Establishing Mobile Money Systems

Establishment of a mobile money platform requires initial investment which grows slowly at first, then requires critical mass for it to take off

Abstract

Establishment of a mobile money platform requires initial investment which grows slowly at first, then requires critical mass for it to take off. The case study of M-Pesa in Kenya is described in Section 2, largely touted as the most successful mobile money network to have been established in Africa. Beneficiaries of mobile money programmes in the emergency response in Haiti (Section 3) needed product orientation and training. Different issues are reported on through country examples in this report. The importance of trust and the workings of dispute settlement are described in the context of Somaliland in Section 4. The levels of taxes applied to transactions affects mobile money usage. Research from Uganda (Section 5) and Jordan (Section 6) provide useful information to that effect. Section 7 discusses interoperability between different mobile money providers within the Rwandan context. Section 8 draws together further information that was identified in the search as of interest on regulation and Section 9 provides further examples of experience with agent networks.

This report was prepared for the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and its partners in support of pro-poor programmes

Citation

Bolton, L. (2020). Establishing Mobile Money Systems. K4D Helpdesk Report 839. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.

Establishing Mobile Money Systems

Updates to this page

Published 15 July 2020