Introducing the Mobile Money Regulatory Index

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

By Brian Muthiora

Over the past decade, mobile money has been a driving force of financial inclusion in emerging markets. Mobile money has proven to be a safe and efficient money transfer and payments solution for the unserved and the underserved. Yet, more than one billion people in the world who have access to a mobile phone still lack access to a formal account at a financial institution.

2016 study by the GSMA and the Harvard Business School found that enabling regulation is an important predictor of success in mobile money services. Enabling regulation has a material influence on market outcomes, helping to drive mobile money adoption and to increase the volume of mobile money transactions. Today, the most successful providers overwhelmingly operate in markets with enabling regulation. On the other hand, non-enabling regulation can stifle investment, limit the rollout of new services and raise costs for consumers, all of which can negatively affect adoption and activity rates.

Photo courtesy of Neil Palmer.

Source: GSMA Mobile for Development (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Finance
Tags
digital finance, digital payments, financial inclusion, fintech, mobile finance, public policy, regulations