NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, April 4, 2019

By Adele Peters

For a family struggling to survive on minimum wage, paying monthly bills can sometimes mean not having enough money for groceries. Around 50 million American households can’t afford a basic budget for rent, food, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and a phone bill–so every month involves creative juggling of expenses. A new program was created to help with one particular bill: In exchange for looking at ads on their phones, low-income consumers can get free cell phone data.

“Our product is focused on helping people in the low-income community earn a little bit extra without really having to change their phone habits,” says Vernell Woods, CEO of Moolah Mobile, a direct-to-consumer ad network that partnered with SurgePhone Wireless to offer the new service, which provides free calls, texting, and wireless data to consumers.

Photo courtesy of uditha wickramanayaka.