The note examines why the take-up of m-banking services has often been slower than anticipated, and highlights the importance of financial education programmes. Using Malcolm Gladwell’s book “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference,” this note describes three agents of change that create tipping points in the spread of various mobile financial services: strategic alliances/ partnerships and marketing agents; branding and building on initial uses of m-banking services; and the power of context – the customer value proposition.