Abstract
Mobile financial services (MFS) represent an area of innovation and strategic importance for global initiatives against poverty and mobile telecommunication providers. The World Bank wants financial inclusion of the poor, and the telecommunication providers seek profit. Firstly, this paper introduces a MFS terminology overview before reviewing previous research on MFS and the global MFS industry picture today. The literature review on mobile payment services shows that researchers from late 90s until now have focused mostly on technology and consumer adoption. Only recently the research has picked up on studying MFS as complex ecosystem with lots of tension and dependent on local circumstances. Secondly, we provide key learnings from the Easypaisa MFS case in Pakistan. This is an example of successful management of a complex ecosystem with processes and events that moved a MFS implementation from one state to another—from cash-based OTC solution to a digital mobile wallet-based solutions. The case study is based on interviewees with the mobile operator, agencies, and governmental organizations like Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the largest social cash transfer program in Pakistan (BISP), and nongovernmental organizations. Finally we present the way forward for MFS including research recommendations.
Keywords
- Mobile financial services
- Ecosystem management
- OTC and mobile wallets
- Biometric ID
- Easypaisa
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Arif, F. (2016). Easypaisa: Providing financial services to the masses. France: Insead.
Baldwin, C., & Woodard, J. (2009). The architecture of platforms: A unified view. In A. Gawer (Ed.), Platforms, markets and innovaton (pp. 19–44). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Bank, T. W. (2014, July 8). Measuring financial inclusion around the world. Retrieved from http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB.
BCG. (2011). The socio-economic impact of mobile financial services. Telenor report. Retrieved from https://www.telenor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/The-Socio-Economic-Impact-of-Mobile-Financial-Services-BCG-Telenor-Group-2011.pdf.
Bergek, A., Jacobsson, S., Carlsson, B., Lindmark, S., & Rickne, A. (2008). Analyzing the functional dynamics of technological innovation systems: A sheme of analysis. Research Policy, 37, 407–429.
bisp.gov.pk. (2016). Retrieved May 14, 2016, from bisp.gov.pk: http://www.bisp.gov.pk/.
Bryman, A., & Bell, B. (2011). Business research methods (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press.
CGAP. (2015, February). Digital financial inclusion: Implications for customers, regulators, supervisors, and standard-setting bodies. http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Brief-Digital-Financial-Inclusion-Feb-2015.pdf. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from www.cgap.org. http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Brief-Digital-Financial-Inclusion-Feb-2015.pdf.
Dahlberg, T., Guo, J., & Ondrus, J. (2015). A critical review of mobile payment research. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 14, 265–284.
Dailytimes. (2015, December 15). Mobicash caters to over 500,000 active accounts. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from dailynews.com: http://dailytimes.com.pk/business/11-Dec-15/mobicash-caters-to-over-500000-active-accounts.
Dennehy, D., & Simmons, D. (2015). Trends in mobile payment research: A literature review. Journal of Innovation Management, 3(1), 49–61.
Donovan, K. (2012). Mobile money for financial Inclusion. Information and Communication for Development, 61–73.
Duvaud-Schelnast, J., & Born, M. (2016). Mobile payment—Is this the turning point. www.adl.com/MobilePayment: Arthur D. Little.
Eriksson, O., & Åkerfalk, P. (2010). Rethinking the meaning of identifiers in information infrastructures. Journal of the Association of Information Systems, 11(8), 433–454.
Financial Inclusion Insight. (2016). Pakistan—Wave report FII tracker survey March 2016. Washington: Financial inclusion insight. Retrieved from http://finclusion.org/uploads/file/reports/InterMedia%20FII%20Wave%203%20Pakistan%200602.pdf.
finclusion.org. (2015, December). Retrieved from Financial Inclusion Insights: PAKISTAN Quicksights report FII Tracker Survey: http://finclusion.org/uploads/file/reports/2015%20InterMedia%20FII%20PAKISTAN%20QuickSights%20Summary%20Report.pdf.
Fung, B. (2016, June 2). The incredibly brilliant way people are now paying for things in Asia. (T. Washington, Ed.) Retrieved July 8, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/06/02/the-incredibly-brilliant-way-people-are-now.
Gawer, A., & Cusumano, M. A. (2002). Platform leadership: How Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco drive industry innovation. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Gawer, A., & Cusumano, M. A. (2014). Industry platforms and ecosystem innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(3), 417–433.
GSMA. (2015). State of the industry report on mobile money. http://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/programme/mobile-money/state-of-the-industry-2015/. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
GSMA. (2016, February). The mobile economy 2016. Retrieved from http://www.gsmamobileeconomy.com/.
GSMA. (n.d.). 2016. Mobile insurance, savings & credit report, May 2016, http://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/programme/mobile-money/2015-mobile-insurance-savings-credit-report.
Guo, J., & Bouwman, H. (2016). An analytical framework for an m-payment ecosystem: A merchants’ perspective. Telecommunication policy, 40, 147–167.
Hanseth, O., & Lyytinen, K. (2010). Design theory for dynamic complexity in information infrastructures: the case of building the internet. Journal of Information Technology, 25, 1–19.
Hernæs, C. (2016). Mobil betaling handler ikke om å byte ut plastkort med mobilen (in Norwegian). http://e24.no/kommentarer/spaltister/teknologi/kommentar-mobil-betaling-handler-ikke-om-aa-bytte-ut-plastkortet-med-mobilen/23678618.
Hughes, T. (1993). The evolution of large technological systems. In W. Bijker, T. Hughes, & T. Pinch (Eds.), The social construction of technological systems (pp. 51–82). Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Khadija, A., Khalid, U., & Khalid, Z. (2012, October). Promoting Financial inclusion and literacy in Pakistan via G2P payment programs. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from microfinanceconnect.info: http://www.microfinanceconnect.info/assets/articles/Promoting%20Financial%20Inclusion%20and%20Literacy%20in%20Pakistan_October%202012_PMN.pdf.
Khan, I., & Rashid, N. (2015, Octber 10). Using mobile money to promote financial inclusion in Pakistan. Retrieved June 20, 2016, from www.karandaaz.com.pk: http://karandaaz.com.pk/Using-Mobile-Money-to-Promote-Financial-Inclusion-in-Pakistan.
Khan, Y. (2016, May 13). Telenor: Financial inclusion is a good sustainability initiative and business opportunity. Retrieved August 16, 2016, from blogs.worldbank.org: http://blogs.worldbank.org/psd/telenor-financial-inclusion-good-sustainability-initiative-and-business-opportunity.
Kim, C. M., & Lee, I. (2010). An empirical examination of factors influencing the intention to use mobile payment. Computers in Human Behaviour, 26, 310–322.
Malik, Y. (2015, August 24). Risks-to-financial-inclusion. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from dawn.com: http://www.dawn.com/news/1202434/risks-to-financial-inclusion.
McCarty, M., & Bjaerum, R. (2013, July 5). Easypaisa: Mobile money innovation in Pakistan. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from gsma.org: http://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Telenor-Pakistan.pdf.
OECD. (2013). Advanced national strategies for financial education—A joint publication by Russia’s G20 Presidency and the OECD. Retrieved June 20, 2016, from oecd.org: https://www.oecd.org/finance/financial-education/G20_OECD_NSFinancialEducation.pdf.
Orakzai, M. (2016, March 31). Mobile money: The OTC and agent dilemma. Retrieved June 10, 2016, from https://karandaaz.com.pk/blog/mobile-money-the-otc-and-agent-dilemma/.
Ozcan, P., & Santos, F. (2015). The market that never was: Turf wars and failed alliances in mobile payments. Strategic Management Journal, 36(10), 1486–1512.
Pickens, M., Porteous, D., & Parker, S. (2009, December 1). Banking the poor via G2P payments. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from cgap.com: http://www.cgap.org/publications/banking-poor-g2p-payments.
Reuver, M. D., Vershuur, E., Nikayin, F., Cerpa, N., & Bouwman, H. (2014). Collective action for mobile payment platforms: A case study on collaboration issue between banks and telecom operators. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 14, 331–344.
Shaikh, A., & Karjaluoto, H. (2015). Mobile banking adoption: a literature review. Telematics and Informatics, 32(1), 129–142. Retrieved July 2016 from https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/handle/123456789/45299.
Shin, D. (2009). Towards an understanding of the consumer acceptance of mobile wallet. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(6), 1343–1354.
State Bank of Pakistan. (2015, May). National financial inclusion strategy Pakistan. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from afi-global.org: http://www.afi-global.org/sites/default/files/publications/national-financial-inclusion-strategy-pakistan.pdf.
State Bank of Pakistan. (2017, Jan–Mar). Quarterly branchless banking newsletter—Issue 23. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from sbp.org.pk: http://www.sbp.org.pk/publications/acd/2017/BranchlessBanking-Jan-Mar-2017.pdf.
The Fintech Revolution. (2015). Retrieved June 15, 2016, from https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21650546-wave-startups-changing-financefor-better-fintech-revolution.
The World Bank. (2012). Pakistan: Evolution of the payment mechanisms in the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP). Retrieved May 13, 2016, from web.Worldbank.org: http://go.worldbank.org/IVIK6MA0D0.
Yin, R. (2014). Case study research. Design and methods. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Yoo, Y., Henfridsson, O., & Lyytinen, K. (2010). Research commentary—The new organizing logic of digital innovation: An agenda for information systems research. Information Systems Research, 21(4), 724–735.
Zhong, J. (2015). Coopetive service innovation mobile payment ecosystems. Aalto University Doctoral Dissertation, 126.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Nesse, P.J., Risnes, O., Hallingby, H.S. (2018). Management of Mobile Financial Services—Review and Way Forward. In: Tan, LM., Lau Poh Hock, E., Tang, C. (eds) Finance & Economics Readings. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8147-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8147-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-8146-0
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-8147-7
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)