Securing mobile applications in hostile rural environments

In rural Africa, where land-based Internet connectivity is a huge problem due to a lack of infrastructure, wireless Internet connectivity and the adoption of mobile devices are a huge success. However, when it comes to mobile payments, Africa still has a long way to go. The biggest concerns with mobile payment applications are a lack of readily available banks, vendors and other shops that can accept mobile payments, the hostile environment in which mobile devices are being used and the lack of proper electricity provisioning. However, in this paper, we will discuss a mobile payment application that can be used no matter how hostile the physical and logical environments are, where the user can rest assured that their financial transactions are kept secure and confidential.