Paper

10 Ways to Accelerate Mobile Money: USAID-Citi Mobile Money Accelerator Alliance

Calling for coordinated action in the mobile money sector

This paper lists ten accelerators that encourage mobile money (m-money) use. They encapsulate lessons that USAID and Citi have learned by engaging governments, banks, companies, mobile network operators, and practitioners. These accelerators also draw on research conducted by CGAP, GSMA, and the Gates Foundation. The paper highlights USAID's belief that mobile money requires the coordinated action of all ecosystem participants to achieve scale. The ten accelerators are:

  • Ensure m-money transfers are safe and transparent;
  • Establish an inter-agency government process to coordinate mobile money decisions;
  • Leverage m-money for government and donor payments, and collections;
  • Get food and household product retailers to accept mobile money;
  • Promote open-architecture policies and interoperability within and across ecosystems;
  • Allow m-money transfers to move seamlessly across borders and mobile networks;
  • Pilot programs to test innovative approaches, create impact analysis, and develop replicable opportunities for scale;
  • Protect people through client education and consumer protection measures;
  • Facilitate the ability of people to put cash in and take cash out of their mobile wallets;
  • Tackle the identity issue for the unbanked.

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