Archive

Posts Tagged ‘Regulation’


GSMA Hosts Central African Mobile Money Roundtable - Focus on Regional Regulation

By: Paul Leishman: February 25th, 2010

On Tuesday in Yaounde, we hosted the GSMA Central African Mobile Money Roundtable. This was the first regional event of its kind hosted by the GSMA, and it was designed to share information and experiences regulating mobile money with BEAC, the financial services regulator for the Economic Community of Central African States, which includes Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon.

The roundtable was attended by MTN, Orange, Zain, Camtel, Citibank, Afriland First Bank, BEAC, BCEAO, Central Bank of Kenya (thanks to the support of the Alliance of Financial Inclusion), Bank of Ghana, CGAP and GSMA.

So why did we choose to host our first regional regulatory roundtable in Cameroon?

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Region: Africa: Central |
Comments: No Comments »
Views: 170

The Consumer Protections Built Into Branchless Banking

By: Guest Blogger: February 24th, 2010

As regulators confront the challenges of regulating branchless banking, protecting the consumer is often their primary concern. And for good reason. Branchless banking is a new service targeting the least sophisticated customers and introducing new actors such as mobile network operators and retail agents into a sector formerly reserved for well capitalized and regulated commercial banks. As a result, there can be an understandable tendency to err on the side of caution.

But compliance with regulations comes at a cost - and that cost is ultimately passed on to the consumer…

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Region: Global |
Comments: No Comments »
Views: 216

Revisiting RICA - The Issue of SIM Registration

By: Paul Leishman: December 4th, 2009

In August we reported that South Africa was revising their RICA provisions to prohibit mobile network operators from registering new SIM cards without first capturing the customer’s identity. We’re now seeing the first signs of how this implementation of mandatory SIM registration will impact the mobile market. MTN’s regulatory affairs executive, Zolisa Masiza, has confirmed that since August 1, there has been a 30% reduction in the sale of SIM cards. The issue of mandatory SIM registration will undoubtedly have some impact on the development of mobile money - not just in South Africa, but in markets around the world. In theory, identifying millions of mobile subscribers could aid in the deployment of mobile money…

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Region: Global |
Comments: No Comments »
Views: 579

Highlights from 2009 Alliance for Financial Inclusion Global Policy Forum

By: Marina Solin: September 24th, 2009

The Alliance of Financial Inclusion (AFI) is a newly established organisation aimed at enabling 50 million people living on less than $2 a day to have access to formal financial services by 2012. AFI is managed by GTZ and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Its members are central banks and other policy making bodies in developing countries. AFI’s first annual Forum took place in Nairobi, 14-16 September 2009, and was co-hosted by the Central Bank of Kenya. Click to view highlights from the event.

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Region: Global |
Comments: No Comments »
Views: 3573

New regulatory change in South Africa affects mobile money

By: Marina Solin: August 14th, 2009

UPDATED: On 1st July 2009, a new Amendment Act to RICA (the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act) comes into effect. The Act is intended to assist law enforcement agencies with tracing criminals where mobile phones are used to commit major crimes; however, this new regulatory requirement has had the unintended consequence of making it more difficult for customers to register for mobile services, including mobile money.

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Region: Africa: South |
Comments: 4 Comments »
Views: 2043

GSMA Mobile Money Leadership Forum convenes financial regulators and the mobile industry

By: Marina Solin: June 30th, 2009

The first annual Mobile Money Leadership Forum was held in Barcelona on 25 June, 2009. To our knowledge this was the first event of this size designed to promote dialogue between financial regulators and the mobile industry. The event was attended by over 70 participants from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

In my opening remarks, I emphasized that “we don’t have to agree, but we can all listen to one another”. What followed was a great deal of productive dialogue. The group took advantage of this unique opportunity to pursue their curiosity about the topic of mobile money and engage in some frank and open discussions. There were are a few key themes and statements that I would like to highlight from the discussion.

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Region: Global |
Comments: No Comments »
Views: 4138

Industry’s Favourite Regulatory Solution: South Africa’s AML Regulation

By: Marina Solin: March 30th, 2009

Marina Solin examines South Africa’s AML/KYC regulation, which provides a good example of the principal of proportionality being applied while allowing for a good mobile experience for customers. As regulators and mobile money providers review the article, consider the following question: which elements of South Africa’s AML/KYC solution can other countries replicate?

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Region: Africa: South |
Comments: 2 Comments »
Views: 1178

Mobilising Money Through Enabling Regulation

By: Marina Solin: March 30th, 2009

David Porteous introduces the key dimensions of a regulatory environment - openness and certainty - and illustrates the concept by plotting four countries that are active in mobile banking. As regulators and mobile money providers review the article, consider the following question: what is the right balance between openness and certainty and how can regulators find it?

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Region: Africa: East, Global, South East Asia |
Comments: No Comments »
Views: 700

Mobile Money Launch Learnings: Zain Zap

By: Paul Leishman: March 30th, 2009

The following interview with George Held, Group Marketing Director of Zain’s One Network, was originally published in the Q1 2009 MMU Quarterly Update. In the interview, George details his projections for customer adoption, the key elements of the launch strategy for Zap, and the importance of working with regulators. Since the February launch, 3,000 Zap outlets have been created across Kenya and 200,000 customers have registered for the service, which represents about 8% of Zain’s subscriber base in the country.

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Region: Africa: East, Africa: South |
Comments: 1 Comment »
Views: 1053