Title: Why we shouldn’t put mobile money on a pedestal…yet?
Author: Laura Fedoryk
Source: Peace Dividend Trust Blog
Date (published): 01/12/2011
Date (accessed): 04/12/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Mobile money initiatives have exploded throughout the developing world. We’ve been hearing a lot over the past few years about its ability to provide access to savings, cash transfers, bill payments and other money management tools to unbanked populations. Yet given the dearth of cautionary literature on the topic, it appears it’s been a bit harder for development enthusiasts to pause and consider the possible pitfalls. What happens when a population — the one that is most likely to benefit from its services — rapidly adopts a new technology, like mobile money?
…
I’m not saying that mobile money is inherently bad – far from it. But as we click away on our smart phones, iPads, and other tech devices, it’s easy to forgive their flaws and look past the potential dangers they create (speaking of which, if you’re reading this while, say crossing the street, save it for later – it won’t be useful to you when you’re in the path of a city bus…).

Mobile money is a tool and, much like we have seen activists and repressive governments alike use social media platforms to spread information or incite action, it can both positively and negatively affect large numbers of people with the tap of a single button..."

Title: Mobile Financial Services Development Report 2011
Pages: 221 pp.
ISBN: 978-92-95044-80-7
Publisher: World Economic Forum
Date (published): 16/05/2011
Date (accessed): 12/08/2011
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTMl + pdf + zip)
Abstract:
"The Mobile Financial Services Development Report 2011 provides a comprehensive analysis of more than 100 variables across 20 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Developed in conjunction with the Boston Consulting Group, the report measures the critical factors necessary to achieve meaningful scale of mobile financial services and to meet the needs of billions of individuals excluded from the formal economy.

Defining mobile financial services devel­opment in terms of the key drivers across the institu­tional, market and end-user environments that lead to adoption and scale, the aim of the Report is to build consensus by proposing a taxonomy and analytic structure for assessing the mobile finance landscape in addition to the provision of a comprehensive data set.

The report takes a wide-ranging view in assessing the factors that contribute to the long-term development of mobile financial services. Along with including mobile payments and transfers, vital financial services such as savings, credit, and insurance are also within the Report’s scope.

Measures of mobile financial services development are captured across seven pillars:

Regulatory proportionality
Consumer protection
Market competitiveness
Market catalysts
End-user empowerment and access
Distribution and agent network
Adoption and availability

The report highlights that the adoption of mobile financial services is currently confined to a few countries where access to financial services has been historically constrained and the scope of services limited to mobile money transfer. The findings also suggest that the adoption of financial services such as savings, credit and micro-insurance are nascent and that regulatory environments, market competitiveness and the financial literacy of end-users all need to be collaboratively addressed before meaningful scale can be achieved.

Countries such as Kenya and the Philippines are among the few countries covered by the report that have achieved adoption levels of more than 10% of their total adult population. A defining characteristic of these countries is a dense network of agents – retail access points that are capable of registering account holders and handling cash transactions. However, as these countries look to achieve scale beyond payments, focusing on factors such as government disbursements through the mobile platform, the competitiveness of their financial and telecom sectors, and better data collection to facilitate “test and learn” approaches will need to become a priority.

Several countries such as Brazil and India demonstrate relative strengths when compared to those countries that have currently achieved scale in mobile payments. The ability to leverage existing agent networks and consumer protection in Brazil may facilitate the development of more complex financial services through the mobile platform. The widespread availability of mobile phones within India, the degree of competition within its telecommunications sector and recent regulatory changes may drive dramatic improvements in adoption levels."

Title: Gartner: mobile payment market is growing slower than expected
Source: Gartner, Inc
Date (published): 21/07/2011
Date (accessed): 27/07/2011
Type of information: press release
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Worldwide mobile payment users will surpass 141.1 million in 2011, a 38.2 percent increase from 2010, when mobile payment users reached 102.1 million, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide mobile payment volume is forecast to total $86.1 billion, up 75.9 percent from 2010 volume of $48.9 billion.

Despite these strong growth projections, Gartner analysts said the mobile payment market is growing slower than expected.

“In developing markets, despite favorable conditions for mobile payment, growth is not as strong as was anticipated. Many service providers are yet to adapt their strategies to local requirements, and success models from Kenya and the Philippines are unlikely to be translated to other markets,” said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner. While developing markets have favorable conditions for mobile payments, such as high penetration of mobile devices and low banking penetration, this is no guarantee of success, unless service providers adapt their strategies to local market requirements.”
...
Gartner expects Short Message Service (SMS) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) to remain the dominant access technologies in developing markets due to the constraints of mobile phones. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) will remain the preferred mobile access technology in developed markets, where the mobile Internet is commonly available and activated on the phone. Mobile app downloads and mobile commerce are the main drivers of WAP payments, and WAP will account for almost 90 percent of all mobile transactions in North America and about 70 percent in Western Europe in 2011.

Money transfers and prepaid top-ups will drive transaction volumes in developing markets. These are seen as the "killer apps" in developing markets, where people value the convenience of sending money to relatives and topping up mobile accounts. This is most obvious in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where these two services will account for 54 percent and 32 percent of all transactions in 2011."

Title: Mobile Money for the Unbanked Annual Report 2011
Pages: 96 pp.
Publisher: GSMA
Date (published): 10/07/2011
Date (accessed): 15/07/2011
Type of information: report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"Over the last 12 months, the mobile money industry has doubled in size; and as the industry has grown, so has our understanding of what it takes to create a successful deployment. This 2011 report contains a selection of important best practices and insights that the MMU team have identified. MMU strives to provide the industry with practical, actionable recommendations for how to create successful Mobile Money services.

This report catalogues our key pieces of work from the last year, including the guide to driving customer adoption of Mobile Money, and the research that we conducted into how banks and operators can succesfully develop effective relationships to offer Mobile Money services.

In addition to these previously published resources, the annual report features a new article by Ignacio Mas from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation titled ‘Enabling different paths to development of Mobile Money ecosystems’, in addition to a new case study focused on Tigo’s first mobile money deployment in Latin America.

Contents
Introduction
1—4 Introduction
Chapter 1
7—18 Is there really any money in Mobile Money?
Chapter 2
19 —38 Mapping and effectively structuring operator-bank relationships to offer Mobile Money for the unbanked
Chapter 3
39—72 Driving customer usage of Mobile Money for the unbanked
Chapter 4
73—78 Enabling different paths to development of Mobile Money ecosystems
Chapter 5
79—88 Case study: Mobile Money in Paraguay"
Glossary
89—90"

via https://twitter.com/#!/ictdev and http://zunia.org/

Title: India’s mobile banking sector set to grow
Source: memeburn
Date (published): 23/05/2011
Date (accessed): 13/07/2011
Type of information:
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Banking by phone could transform the workings of the rural economy, but the industry first needs to allay fears about transaction security and overcome low literacy levels and banks’ limited reach in remote areas.
Leading figures from the telecoms and banking sectors meeting in Mumbai last week said that mobile banking — including money transfers, bill payments and remittances — was largely untapped.
“The potential for mobile banking is enormous, but it will take its own pace to grow,” said Amit Ahire, analyst at Ambit Capital.
One in 10 of the world’s mobiles is sold in India, according to technology research specialists Gartner, and the country adds nearly 19-million new mobile subscribers every month, making it the fastest-growing market in the world.
An estimated 775-million people are mobile phone subscribers.
Yet, at the same time, nearly half of the adult population still does not have a bank account."

Title: Mobile Money in Mexico
Source: Mobile Banking blog
Date (published): 09/06/2011
Date (accessed): 13/07/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Mexico is such an important market from a mobile money perspective. The profile of the citizens, the proximity (and dependency on) a large remittance market and the big growth in mobile phones make this country one of the best candidate for the next big mobile money deployment. Not much has been achieved in the past years. With many false starts (and failures), have marked the early stages of mobile money in Mexico.

The big success of micro lending institutions to bring financial services to the lower income is an indication of the need that exist at the bottom of the pyramid and that fact that well-defined and managed services can be rolled-out to reach a large part of the population. Changes in the regulatory framework have made the possibility to roll-out more financial services grow. "

Title: UID to bring banking to the poor
Author: Karen Leigh
Source: livemint.com
Publisher: HT Media
Date (published): 25/04/2010
Date (accessed): 03/05/2010
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
New Delhi: India’s plan to offer unique identity (UID) cards to all citizens will bring a range of banking services within reach of millions of poor who currently cannot even open a bank account, says a report released on Friday by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which is executing the project.

Facilities such as microfinance are beyond the reach of many poor people in both towns and villages who do not have documentary proof of their identity.

Title: The early experience with M-PESA and what’s not to love about an ATM made out of Legos: Headlines for April 21, 2010
Author: Jim Rosenberg
Source: CGAP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
Date (published): 21/04/2010
Date (accessed): 21/04/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Ignacio Mas and Daniel Radcliffe of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have a new paper summing up the early experience with M-PESA - Mobile Payments Go Viral: M-PESA in Kenya...
As more people use electronic means to connect to each other, fewer use the post office. Media reports suggest the Bangladesh Post Office is taking a ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ approach when it comes to mobile phones - Bangladesh Post Office introduces mobile money transfer.

Title: Africa Development Research Series: Ghana Quantitative Survey Report
Author: Hannah Bowen
Pages: 112 pp.
Source: InterMedia AudienceScapes
Publisher: InterMedia Survey Institute

Date (published): 26/02/2010
Date (accessed): 13/03/2010
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf - 4,8 MB)
Abstract:
This report is based on a quantitative survey in Ghana and gives development practitioners a concise but rich description of the development information environment in Ghana. It offers insight into how information is gathered, shared and used at the grassroots level. In addition, it showcases the power of the AudienceScapes national survey instrument to help
the development community better target their communications and information efforts.

This unique dataset addresses some of the toughest questions in development program management: From which information sources do various segments of the population learn about development issues? How can we share critical information with target demographic groups efficiently and effectively? What sorts of information do people want, need or lack?
The nationally representative survey in Ghana was conducted over three weeks in July and August 2009 with a sample of 2,051 respondents selected from the adult population (15 and over) according to a probability-proportional-to-size (PPS) sampling plan
Key elements of the dataset include:
Descriptions of general media use, ICT use and communication habits.
In-depth sections on radio, TV, print, mobile phone and internet use.
In-depth sections on access to and use of information covering personal finance, health, and agriculture issues.
Demographic and socio-economic status information.
Respondents’ opinions about selected development issues.
Measures of trust in information sources and institutions.

Structure of This Report
The report summary provides a detailed rundown of the main findings.
Chapter 1 provides a brief overview of the development context in Ghana when the research took place.
Chapter 2 describes how Ghanaians gather and share information in general, while Chapter 3 focuses on the use of specific media and ICTs.
Chapter 4 discusses communication in the context of three important development sectors: health, personal finance and agriculture, including case studies that highlight ways the AudienceScapes data can inform development programs in each sector.
The appendices provide additional details on research methods, InterMedia and the AudienceScapes team.

Title: Africa Development Research Series: Kenya Quantitative Survey Report
Author: Hannah Bowen
Pages: 129 pp.
Source: InterMedia AudienceScapes
Publisher: InterMedia Survey Institute
Date (published): 26/02/2010
Date (accessed): 13/03/2010
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf - 4,8 MB)
Abstract:
This report is based on a quantitative survey in Kenya and gives development practitioners a
concise but rich description of the development information environment in Kenya. It offers
insight into how information is gathered, shared and used at the grassroots level. In
addition, it showcases the power of the AudienceScapes national survey instrument to help
the development community better target its communications and information efforts.
This unique dataset addresses some of the toughest questions in development program
management: How much and from which sources do various segments of the population
learn about development issues? How can we share critical information with target
demographic groups efficiently and effectively? What sorts of information do people want,
need or lack?

Structure of this Report
The report summary provides a detailed overview of the main findings.
Chapter 1 introduces the information and development context in which the survey was conducted.
Chapter 2 highlights findings about media and communication habits, with special attention to word-of-mouth networks and to the particular challenges of communicating with rural populations and women.
Chapter 3 details Kenyans’ access to and use of various media and ICTs, while Chapter 4 applies the AudienceScapes data to three key development sectors: health, personal finance and agriculture.
The appendices provide additional details on research methods, the AudienceScapes team and the AudienceScapes project research advisory board.

via http://www.onlineafrica.net/