Platforms for Successful

Mobile Money Services

Authors: Fionn McGrath & Susie Lonie
The MMU programme is supported by The Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation, The Mastercard Foundation and Omidyar Network.
Contents
Figures
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PART 1 Introducing mobile money platforms
PART 2 Technical features of a mobile money platform
PART 3 Functional Layers
PART 4 RFP Development & Evaluation
PART 5 Conclusion
FIGURE 1 Top-down approach to a mobile money service and platform
FIGURE 2 Mobile Money Interfaces
FIGURE 3 High-level Mobile Money System Requirements
FIGURE 4 A sample agent distribution hierarchy
4
5
7
12
18
21
8
10
13
15
4 GSMA - MOBILE MONEY FOR THE UNBANKED TECH PAPER 5
Executive
Summary
IN THE EARLY DAYS of the mobile money in-
dustry, mobile money platforms lacked suf-
hcienl funclionaIily and caacily. Anumber
of high-rohIe mobiIe money services vere
unable to scale up their platform and meet
the capacity demands of mounting num-
bers of cuslomers, bringing lheir grovlh lo
a screeching haIl. Many olhers found lheir
platforms had inadequate functionality to
meel lheir slralegic and oeralionaI vision
of mobiIe money. This became cIear vhen
the second round of RFPs for mobile money
Ialforms vas recenlIy issued: haIf of
GSMA's 14 mobiIe money srinlers
1
are
in the process of migrating or are planning
lo migrale lheir Ialforms.
Many MNs agree lhal mobiIe money Ial-
forms vere seIecled in hasle during lhe hrsl
vave of deIoymenls and lhal, in lhe rush
lo gel lhe service lo markel, nol enough lime
vas devoled lo lhe RII rocess. The resuIl
has been unsuilabIe Ialforms, badIy dehned
roadmas, and uneasy reIalions belveen
MNs and lheir vendors. Vendors, for lheir
arl, did nol aIvays have lhe exerlise or
resources lo lurn around deveIomenls in a
limeIy fashion, comounding lhe robIem.
There is no magic formuIa lo driving an in-
duslry forvard. nIy lime, exerience and
groving consumer demand viII roduce
mobiIe money services and Ialforms lhal
deIiver comrehensive funclionaIily and
slabIe soIulions. MobiIe money conlinues lo
grov: loday 1OO nev services are Ianning
lo Iaunch aII around lhe vorId. This aer
is based on exlensive research of mobiIe
money service roviders and Ialform
vendors, and aims lo heI service rovid-
ers identify the functional and technical
features they require for a platform to meet
lheir business needs. The aer revievs
vhal makes mobiIe money a unique lye of
service for MNs, idenlifying lhe main fea-
tures of a mobile money platform and the
important functional and technical aspects
lo consider vhen enlering lhe mobiIe mon-
ey induslry. IinaIIy, lhere are guideIines
for MNs seeking lo issue and evaIuale an
RII for a mobiIe money Ialform.
1 Sprinters are the worlds most suc-
cessful mobile money services, see Claire
Pnicaud (2013), State of the Industry:
Results from the 2012 Global Mobile
Money Adoption Survey, GSMA Mobile
Money for the Unbanked Programme.
MOBILE MONEY IS MORE COMPLEX THAN VAS
More and more, mobiIe nelvork oera-
lors (MNs) are seeing mobiIe money as a
revenue slream in ils ovn righl and nol |usl
as a vay lo generale indirecl revenues from
churn reduclion. This nev erseclive vas
reveaIed in lhe GSMA2O12 GIobaI MobiIe
Money Adolion Survey, in vhich four mo-
biIe money srinlers lhe faslesl groving
roviders in lhe induslry reorled lhal mo-
biIe money accounled for more lhan 1O/ of
overaII MN revenues. Iasl groving mobiIe
money services lhal lhe MMI have vorked
vilh vhiIe researching lhis aer aII reveaI a
change in MN mind-sel, mobiIe money is
nov being lrealed inlernaIIy as a service and
no Ionger as a roducl. The induslry is ma-
luring, and lhe survey reveaIed a cIear shifl
in lhe vay mobiIe money srinlers are a-
roaching mobiIe money. These MNs are
realising that, unlike airtime, mobile money
is not a stand-alone product that they can
PART 1:
Introducing mobile money
platforms
simIy seII and vaIk avay from. Inslead,
they are beginning to treat mobile money
as a unique service lhal requires much
more allenlion. Il is nol simIy a vaIue-
added service (VAS) or inleIIigenl nelvork
(IN) exlension, bul an enlireIy nev Iine of
business lhal Ieverages an MN's dislribu-
lion nelvorks and demands exlra care and
attention such as additional and dedicated
resources lo succeed.
THE EVOLUTION OF MOBILE
MONEY PLATFORMS
Mosl earIy mobiIe money Ialforms vere
simIy more advanced airlime recharge
Ialforms. This vas lrue of mobiIe money
ioneers Iliba, TeIein, Comviva and
eServGIobaI, vilh onIy Iundamo's offering
being a service-secihc deveIomenl. An
airtime platform consists of a core trans-
aclionaI engine vhich aIIovs lhe iniliaI
loading of the recharge amount and then
HALF OF GSMAS 14
MOBILE MONEY
SPRINTERSARE
IN THE PROCESS
OF MIGRATING OR
ARE PLANNING TO
MIGRATE THEIR
PLATFORMS
6 GSMA - MOBILE MONEY FOR THE UNBANKED TECH PAPER 7
lhe debiling of lhal amounl lhrough voice,
lexl or dala usage. An advancemenl of lhis
simIe Ialform vas airlime sharing or
lransfer among friends.
Hovever, mobiIe money services are of
course vaslIy differenl:
When mobile money is spent, it is not
used u Iike airlime. Ralher, lhe er-
son vho receives lhe lransfer, in lurn
transfers it to another person, business,
or olher aymenl reciienl. Therefore,
a mobile money platform has many
more use-cases, many more stakehold-
ers and the frequency of transactions
lakes on a differenl asecl.
MobiIe money lransaclions are sensi-
live and musl be comIeled fuIIy, cor-
reclIy, and quickIy. AlradilionaI VAS is
nol as sensilive and il is accelabIe for
a convenlionaI SMS lo be deIayed, bul
a mobile money transaction request
or resonse carried over SMS musl
aIvays be deIivered on lime. Agenls
cannol and viII nol hand over cash un-
liI lhey have received an SMS conhrm-
ing lhal lhe cash-oul lransaclion has
been comIeled successfuIIy. Nor can
an agenl afford lo vail severaI minules
for lhe SMS lo arrive vhiIsl lhe queue
in lhe slore grovs Ionger and cuslom-
ers grov imalienl.
VAS nodes are more slraighlforvard,
there is no need for multiple distribu-
lion IeveIs, numerous inlerfaces lo
olher core eIemenls, or hnanciaI regu-
Ialions governing vhal is and vhal is
nol aIIoved.
The core lechnicaI requiremenls for a
mobile money platform are essentially
the same across different markets, but
some customisation is necessary be-
cause local regulations and consumer
roosilions vary.
MOBILE MONEY PLATFORMS:
THE NEED FOR INVESTMENT
Anolher issue vilh hrsl generalion mobiIe
money Ialforms vas lhe IeveI of ufronl
inveslmenl required. When many mobiIe
money services hrsl Iaunched, lhere vas
IillIe evidence of hov much revenue mobiIe
money vouId generale and lhere vas a fear
of cailaI exendilure (CaLx) exosure.
This Ied mobiIe money services lo ol for
more basic Ialforms lhal aIIoved lhem lo
gel lheir service lo markel quickIy. Hovev-
er, lhe dovnside of lhis aroach vas lhal
each nev change requesl vas coslIy and
lhe funclionaIily lhal vas inadverlenlIy
omitted from the platform became costly
and time consuming to add on an on-going
basis. The resuIl vas lhal earIy Ialforms
vere oflen unabIe lo offer slabiIily or grov
aIongside consumer demand.
THE EVOLUTION OF A SERVICE
MNOs are beginning to have the
realisation that
Wow, I am now a Payment Ser-
vice Provider and not a product
seller.....Ill need to send a bill.
Vincent Kadar, CEO, Telepin
MATCHING FUNCTIONALITY WITH
BUSINESS STRATEGY
The imorlance of making lhe righl lech-
nology choices from the outset cannot be
overslaled. MobiIe money lechnoIogy is lhe
buiIding bIock uon vhich everylhing eIse
deends: dislribulion, business rocesses,
and organisalionaI slruclure. When lhe
lechnoIogy erforms roerIy, il exisls in
lhe background and deIivers funclionaIily
based on lhe mobiIe money service slral-
egy. IIlimaleIy, il is a sound commerciaI
strategy that determines the success of the
service, nol lhe lechnoIogy.
Alo-dovn slralegy shouId be foIIoved
from lhe very slarl and shouId lake inlo
account the customer proposition, the
desired roducl mix, and hov lhe service
viII be deIivered aIongside lhe core MN
business. Ior MNs nev lo mobiIe money,
it is important to remember that they
PART 2:
Technical features of a mobile
money platform
are resonsibIe for hoIding and moving
cuslomers' money around, and lhal mobiIe
money customers are quite often interact-
ing vilh hnanciaI services for lhe hrsl lime
and deend on il erforming exaclIy as
lhey execl il lo.
The seclion on hgure 1 delaiIs lhe lechni-
caI eIemenls lhal musl be considered vhen
Iaunching a mobiIe money service and
deveIoing an RII for a mobiIe money
Ialform. Il is imorlanl lhal lhe Ialform
choice and the RFP process are not rushed
and lhal lhe decision is sound and reecls
lhe overaII business slralegy.
INITIAL PLATFORM DECISIONS
The hrsl decision a service rovider needs
lo make is vhere lhe Ialform viII sil. The
hosling environmenl is vhere lhe service is
hysicaIIy housed. TradilionaIIy, MNs re-
fer lo hosl lheir Ialforms in lheir ovn dala
THE CORE
TECHNICAL
REQUIREMENTS
FOR A MOBILE
MONEY PLATFORM
ARE ESSENTIALLY
THE SAME ACROSS
DIFFERENT
MARKETS, BUT SOME
CUSTOMISATION
IS NECESSARY
BECAUSE LOCAL
REGULATIONS
AND CONSUMER
PROPOSITIONS VARY.
8 GSMA - MOBILE MONEY FOR THE UNBANKED TECH PAPER 9
cenlre, bul given lhe emergence of cIoud-
based services and Soflvare as a Service
(SaaS), Ialforms can be hosled exlernaIIy
and Iinked back lo an MN's dala cenlre.
Hosling decisions are crilicaI: smaIIer MNs
may choose an exlernaIIy hosled soIulion lo
reduce sel-u cosls, vhereas Iarger MNs
that are part of a group may prefer in-house
hosling. The cosls and benehls of bolh o-
lions are resenled in TabIe 1.
REGARDLESS OF WHICH HOSTING SOLUTION
AN MNO CHOOSES, IT MUST CONSIDER A
NUMBER OF OTHER KEY PLATFORM ISSUES:
P!atInrm rcdundancy: This is eseciaI-
ly necessary for a mobile money plat-
form vhere hnanciaI vaIue is slored
and moved. The svilchover from Iive
lo back-u node musl be seamIess.
DIsastcr rccnvcry: The raid recovery
from a faiIover or oulage is crilicaI
and must be integrated into any
service design.
5crvIcc-!cvc! Agrccmcnt (5LA):
Any conlracl vilh a vendor shouId
incIude delaiIs governing ilems such
as funclionaIily dehnilions, connec-
livily, user1vendor resonsibiIilies
and obligations, technical support
arrangements, escalation procedures,
Ialform avaiIabiIily, and enaIlies for
non-comIiance. These Iasl lvo ilems
are eseciaIIy imorlanl and rovide
recourse for lhe MN if lhere is a
service oulage. (In earIy deIoymenls
lhis arl of conlracluaI discussions vas
oflen rushed.) In relurn, lhe vendor
viII require an SLAvilh lhe MN for
signaIIing and SMS1ISSD deIivery.
These issues are equaIIy imorlanl in
the case of a third party supplier that
rovides lhe Iinks lo an exlernaIIy
hosled soIulion, lhe mobiIe money
service rovider vouId have lheir ovn
conlracl vilh lhis suIier.
CapacIty p!annIng: The mosl suc-
cessfuI mobiIe money services have
exerienced eriods of raid grovlh
lhal have slrained lhe caacily of lheir
Ialforms. In Iale 2O11, Iganda's MTN
MobiIe Money suffered Ienglhy dovn-
lime as a resuIl of necessary service
ugrades, roving hov vuInerabIe ca-
acily is lo veak comonenls.
3 4
Service
usage must be forecasted and included
in the capacity planning for a mobile
money platform, and all supporting
services and vendors shouId be avare
of lhese hgures.
Changc rcqucst managcmcnt: MobiIe
money is a young and dynamic in-
duslry and il is inevilabIe lhal many
changes viII be made lo lhe service
over ils Iifelime. Change requesls are
a source of fruslralion lo bolh MNs
and vendors since lhey incur deIays
and exense and diverl resources
from more slralegic deveIomenls.
The beller lhe RII and ils evaIualion,
lhe fever changes viII be needed.
Indeed, if a slrong MN-vendor arl-
nership is established during the RFP
rocess, managing fulure changes viII
be Iess chaIIenging.
Rnadmap: The roadma musl be
driven by commerciaI requiremenls lo
rovide added funclionaIily, caacily
imrovemenls, and oeralionaI cosl
savings. Galhering delaiIed require-
menls and documenlalion are exlreme-
ly important in this nascent industry
vhere lhere are fev besl raclice
slandards lo be emuIaled.
P!atInrm cnvIrnnmcnts: Il is com-
mon for leIecommunicalions vendors
lo rovide bolh a Iive Ialform and
a slaging Ialform. The Iive Ialform
handIes lrafhc vhiIe lhe slaging Ial-
form is used lo lesl soflvare ugrades
and alches. Due lo lhe sensilive
nature of transmitting customer funds,
each mainlenance vindov shouId
run through the entire testing suite
rior lo going Iive. To-erforming
MNO STRATEGY
s OVERALL MNO BUSINESS DECISIONS
s OBJECTIVES AND DIRECTIONS
s WHAT IS BEING CHANGED?
MNO TECHNICAL STRATEGY
s OSERVICE BASED
s DEMAND FOCUSED
MOBILE MONEY PLATFORM
s OSERVICE DELIVERY BASED
s TECHNOLOGY FOCUSED
FIGURE 1
Top-down approach to a mobile money service and platform
2
DIRECTION FOR
THE SERVICE
NEEDS &
PRIORITIES OF
THE SERVICE
FITS IN WITH
OVERALL MNO
TECHNICAL
PORTFOLIO
SUPPORTS MNO
STRATEGY
WHY ARE WE
DELIVERING
THE SERVICE?
TABLE 1
Costs and benets of in-house and external hosting
COST
INITIAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURES ARE GREATER, OPERATING
EXPENSES ARE USUALLY LESS
MINIMAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURES BUT OPERATING
EXPENSES ARE USUALLY GREATER
IN-HOUSE DATA CENTRE HOSTED SOLUTION
EXPERTISE
NEED TO DEVELOP IN-HOUSE EXPERTISE TO SUPPORT
THE PLATFORM
NOT AS CRITICAL SINCE THE EXPERTISE COMES FROM
THE VENDOR ITSELF
SCALABILITY
LIMITED BY FLOOR SPACE, INTERNAL PROCESSES, AND
COMPETING SERVICES
CAN BE MUCH FASTER TO DEPLOY EXTRA CAPACITY
GROUP-WIDE
REDUNDANCY
MORE DIFFICULT TO HANDLE WITH MULTIPLE MARKETS
EVEN WITH THE SAME VENDOR
MUCH EASIER TO ACHIEVE AS THE HOSTING USUALLY
ORIGINATES FROMA LIMITED NUMBER OF HUB LOCATIONS
LATENCY
LINKS ARE ALSO IN-HOUSE AND CAN BE EASILY
DISTRIBUTED TO LIMIT FAILURE POINTS. LATENCY IS
MUCH LESS THAN IN THE CLOUD
LINKS TO THE HOST MAY REPRESENT POINTS OF FAILURE
(E.G. NON-DISTRIBUTED THIRD PARTY SUPPLIER) AND
ADD EXTRA LATENCY
CONSISTENCY
VERY DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE IF EACH MARKET ISSUES
ITS OWN RFP (EVEN WITH A SINGLE VENDOR) DUE TO
DIFFERENT RELEASES AND WARRANTIES
EASIER TO ACHIEVE WHERE ALLOWED. SOME MARKETS
CANNOT SUPPORT CLOUD-BASED SOLUTIONS DUE TO
REGULATORY CONSTRAINTS THAT PREVENT DATA FROM
CROSSING NATIONAL BORDERS (E.G. INDIA, PAKISTAN)
GROSS REVENUE
USUALLY NOT SHARED WITH THE VENDOR -
TRADITIONAL MNO MODEL
QUITE OFTEN SHARED WITH THE VENDOR -
THIS IS AN EMERGING MODEL AND SUITABLE
FOR SMALLER OPERATIONS
3 MTN announces mobile money
instabilities The Independent, 23
November 2011, http://www.independ-
ent.co.ug/ugandatalks/2011/11/mtn-
announces-mobile-money-instabilities/
(accessed May 5, 2013).
4 Unstable Network Worries
Mobile Money Clients, Uganda Radio
Network, 3 December 2011 http://
ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.
php?s=38799 (accessed 5 May 2013).
2 Adapted from John Ward and Joe
Peppard, 2002, Strategic Planning for
Information Systems, Fig. 3.8, p. 154.
WHAT IS
REQUIRED OF
THE SERVICE?
HOW CAN
THE SERVICE BE
DELIVERED?
TOP-PERFORMING
MOBILE MONEY
SERVICES HAVE
AN ADDITIONAL,
THIRD PLATFORM
THAT THEY USE FOR
TRAINING
10 GSMA - MOBILE MONEY FOR THE UNBANKED TECH PAPER 11
mobiIe money services have an ad-
ditional, third platform that they use
for lraining. This has roven vilaI lo
lhe success of lhe service as slaff can
become famiIiar vilh lhe funclionaIily
of lhe service in a safe and conlroIIed
environmenl. Iundamo recommends
lhree Ialforms as slandard.
INTERFACES TO OTHER PLATFORMS
The mobiIe money Ialform does nol exisl
as a sland-aIone unil, il musl connecl lo
olher MN core eIemenls in order lo access
lhe GSM lechnoIogy and lo exlernaI Ial-
forms lo rovide fuII commerciaI funclion-
aIily. Iigure 2 shovs lhe lyicaI inlerfaces
lhal a mobiIe money Ialform requires.
INTERNAL MNO INTERFACES
The mosl common vay a cuslomer or agenl
accesses a mobiIe money service is lhrough
STK or ISSD inlerfaces. Airlime lo-us
are among the most common transactions
in lhe ma|orily of mobiIe money services,
vhich invoIves Iinking lo lhe IN or olher
medialion Ialform. In markels vhere
Iileracy IeveIs are Iov, some mobiIe money
services incororale conneclions lo an inler-
aclive voice resonse (IVR). In addilion,
cuslomer care, back ofhce slaff, oeralions,
and rovisioning leams musl have access lo
various arls of lhe Ialform. Aveb-based
inlerface lyicaIIy rovides lhe besl resuIls.
The caacily of aII Ialforms and lhe band-
vidlh of lhe Iinks lo lhese nodes musl be
evaIualed, eseciaIIy since severaI comel-
ing users might access them simultaneous-
Iy. Whereas some service oulages have been
the result of platform inadequacies, others
have been lhe resuIl of congeslion belveen
lhese inlerfaces and olher MN Ialforms.
Iriorilising lhe deIivery of mobiIe money
messages to and from these systems is rec-
ommended due lo lhe sensilive nalure of a
service lhal moves cuslomers' money.
EXTERNAL INTERFACES
BankIng systcms: AmobiIe money service
is lyicaIIy in arlnershi vilh a bank since
e-money is aIvays backed by funds in a
bank accounl. IdeaIIy, malching money
in lhe bank vilh e-money in lhe syslem
shouId be aulomaled. AfaciIily lo inlerface
to other banks may also be needed, for
examIe, lo faciIilale cash-oul via an ATM
nelvork or lo make lransfers belveen bank
and e-money accounls.
Paymcnt swItchcs: In many markels,
svilches roule lransaclions belveen con-
venlionaI aymenl services. They may be
inlernalionaIIy recognised (such as Visa and
MaslerCard), lhey may be nalionaI svilch-
es, or lhey may be secihc lo one or more
banks, money lransfer organisalions, and1
or aymenl service roviders (ISI). Trans-
aclions vilh some organisalions require
connecling lo a aymenl svilch and aying
lhe svilch rovider a rocessing fee.
BI!!cr systcms: ne of lhe mosl ouIar
mobiIe money services is biII aymenls,
oflen a uliIily biII such as over or valer.
This may require connecling direclIy lo lhe
aymenl syslem of each uliIily rovider.
Paymcnt 5crvIcc PrnvIdcr (P5P) systcms:
In some cases, biII aymenl funclionaIily is
facilitated by the mobile money platform
connecling lo an exlernaI aymenl service
rovider (ISI) Ialform, vhich lhen con-
necls lo muIliIe biIIer syslems.
PnInt nI 5a!c (PO5) dcvIccs: In some mar-
kels lhe relaiI infraslruclure, even for lhe
oor, makes exlensive use of eIeclronic liIIs
MOBILE MONEY
CORE SYSTEM
SMSC BANKING SYSTEMS
USSD GATEWAY PAYMENT SWITCHES
AIRTIME IN OR
MEDIATION PLATFORM
BILLER SYSTEMS
WEB SERVICES
PAYMENT SERVICE
PROVIDER SYSTEMS
IVR GATEWAY
POINT OF SALE
DEVICES & SYSTEMS
FIGURE 2
Mobile Money Interfaces
EXTERNAL
INTERFACES
INTERNAL
MNO
INTERFACES
PLATFORM EVOLUTION
What differences are you
noticing in this second
round of RFPs?
Two points to highlight: These RFPs
are based on consumer requirements
and behaviour gathered during the
past ve to seven years in several
markets, and are demanding more
exibility of the platforms to enable
new services and integrate into a
more complex ecosystem with the ad-
dition of third party players, nancial
services institutions and payment
networks, both for closed and open
loop transactions.
Jesus Luzardo, EVP Global Sales
Mobile Financial Services, Utiba
HOSTING DECISIONS
Some CTOs have had some badly
delivered centralised GSM services in
the past so there may be an initial re-
luctance to go for a hosted solution.
People in this role are very conscious
of the trade-off between wanting to
have control of platforms versus hav-
ing to develop the expertise in-house
required to manage the platform.
Mobile Money Vendor Management
& Business Strategy Manager,
African Group MNO
vilh sohislicaled IS devices. Ior bolh
agenl aclivilies (cash-in1cash-oul) and for
merchant payments in store it may be nec-
essary lo inlerface vilh lhe merchanl IS.
12 GSMA - MOBILE MONEY FOR THE UNBANKED TECH PAPER 13
PART 3:
Functional Layers
THE TRANSACTIONAL functionality of
mobile money systems must support three
lyes of aclivilies:
Custnmcr actIvItIcs these may be
performed by a customer or a busi-
ness, bul lhey have an imacl on lhe
cuslomer's mobiIe money accounl.
Agcnt actIvItIcs agenls erform lvo
dislincl funclions: serving cuslomers
and administering their business
Opcratnr actIvItIcs performed by the
MN offering lhe service
Malure services and vendors agree lhal il is
referabIe lo Iaunch a nev mobiIe money
service vilh a Iimiled suile of funclionaIily.
This makes il easier for bolh cuslomers and
agenl assislanls lo undersland lhe service,
vhy il's needed, and eseciaIIy hov lo
use il. AddilionaI funclionaIily can lhen be
roIIed oul in a slruclured fashion over lime
deending on hov lhe service evoIves.
The funclionaIily required lo suorl
each lye of aclivily is described in delaiI
in lhe nexl seclion. These funclions are
exIained from a service design erseclive
and incIude lhe secihc consideralions for
imIemenling each lye. IIalform design-
ers recommend that all customer and agent
lransaclions be chargeabIeconhgurabIe as
bolh a ercenlage and a hxed feeeven if
lhe charge is sel lo zero for many of lhem.
Ior lhe MN lo access lhe revenue earned
by lhe mobiIe money service, lhe Ialform
must collect transaction fees and airtime
discounl fees vhen money moves lhrough
lhe syslem. uiIding in lhis fealure from
lhe slarl can be very benehciaI if lhe mobiIe
money service becomes laxabIe, as ha-
ened vilh Safaricom's M-Iesa in 2O13.
5
CUSTOMER TRANSACTIONS
Cuslomers need access lo a range of lrans-
aclions lhey can eilher conducl lhemseIves
or have conducled on lheir behaIf by an
agenl, business, or olher service rovider.
RcgIstratInn: Deending on IocaI reguIa-
lion, regislralion may invoIve coIIecling
KYC documenlalion, bul lyicaIIy il requires
an agent to send instructions to the mobile
money service lo creale an accounl for lhe
cuslomer. In some markels, seIf-regislralion
is ermilled lo access lhe basic service, bul
users usuaIIy need lo bring KYC documen-
tation to an agent to access higher transac-
lion Iimils and richer funclionaIily. Tiered
KYC is aIso common in markels vilhoul
self-registration and different transaction
Iimils are aIIoved deending on lhe IeveI of
cuslomer informalion received. IIalforms
shouId accommodale lhese differenl rohIes
vhiIe ensuring lhere is an easy-lo-under-
sland checkIisl for agenls lo foIIov (vho are
oflen inexerienced in lhis area). In some
markels, lhe MN is aIso ermilled lo buIk
regisler exisling subscribers.
Cash-InjCash-Out: The chief lask of an
agenl is lo rovide cash-in and cash-oul
services lo regislered cuslomers. Mosl
markels aIIov agenls lo enabIe cash-oul for
unregislered reciienls of funds, vho nor-
FOCUSSED FUNCTIONALITY
AT LAUNCH
If we look at the number of produc-
tion units in the eld, it is the clients
with the crystal clear service offering
that are the most successful in the
market. These ones have high growth
rates and are slowly building on their
initial solid core offering. It seems
to be a challenge to get the right
product denition in the market.
Martin Slabber,
Product Manager, Fundamo
Customer activities
AGENT ACTIVITIES
AGENT TRANSACTIONS
s CUSTOMER REGISTRATION*
s CUSTOMER CASH-IN*
s CUSTOMER CASH-OUT*
s ATM WITHDRAWAL
AGENT ADMINISTRATION
s FLOAT MANAGEMENT TOOLS
s REPORTS & STATEMENTS
s END OF SHIFT STATUS SMS
s BALANCE ENQUIRY
s PIN CHANGE
s ASSISTANT ADDITION/REMOVAL
MNO ACTIVITIES
MNO TRANSACTIONS
s CONVERTING CASH TO E-MONEY
s E-MONEY ALLOCATION
s COMMISSION PAYMENT
MNO ADMINISTRATION
s AGENT CREATION AND
ADMINISTRATION
s CUSTOMER (BULK) REGISTRATION
s RISK AND AML AUDIT
CUSTOMER ACTIVITIES
CUSTOMER TRANSACTIONS
s CUSTOMER REGISTRATION*
s CUSTOMER CASH-IN*
s CUSTOMER CASH-OUT*
* DENOTES AGENT ASSISTANCE
s SEND MONEY
s P2P TRANSFER
s SEND VOUCHER
s BUY AIRTIME
s FOR OWN PHONE
s FOR ANOTHER PHONE
s BILL PAYMENT
s PAY MERCHANT IN STORE
s BULK PAYMENTS (E.G. SALARY, G2P)
s BANK TRANSFERS
CUSTOMER ADMINISTRATION
s BALANCE ENQUIRY
s PIN CHANGE
s MINI STATEMENT
BUSINESS REPORTS
s FINANCIAL
s REGULATORY
s OPERATIONAL
FIGURE 3
High-level Mobile Money System Requirements
MOBILE MONEY
CORE SYSTEM
5 Kenyan Government Begins Mobile
Payment Tax available online at
http://www.paymentsjournal.com/
Page.aspx?id=15470 (accessed 20
May 2013)
MATURE SERVICES
AND VENDORS
AGREE THAT IT IS
PREFERABLE TO
LAUNCH A NEW
MOBILE MONEY
SERVICE WITH A
LIMITED SUITE OF
FUNCTIONALITY
14 GSMA - MOBILE MONEY FOR THE UNBANKED TECH PAPER 15
maIIy receive a voucher lhey can exchange
vilh an agenl for cash. Many mobiIe money
services are aIso connecled lo one or more
IocaI ATM nelvorks lo aIIov cardIess cash
vilhdravaIs. This service is nol generaIIy
avaiIabIe for vouchers, as il vouId require
them to be in the same denominations
avaiIabIe al lhal ATM.
5cnd mnncy: This is oflen lhe Iaunch
roosilion. Some syslems require lhe
sender lo choose belveen sending funds lo
another mobile money account and send-
ing a voucher. As il is unIikeIy lhal lhe
sender viII knov lhis, il is recommended
lhal a singIe send olion is resenled
to the customer and the system decides
vhelher il needs lo erform a lransfer or
creale a voucher.
Buy aIrtImc: MobiIe money shouId be
able to top up airtime or another mobile
hone on lhe same nelvork using a mobiIe
money accounl.
BusIncss paymcnts: While businesses can
be cuslomers of lhe mobiIe money service
lhemseIves, lhey aIso iniliale and receive
cuslomer aymenls. Third arly cuslomer-
lo-business (C2) aymenls can be sIil
inlo lvo lyes: lhe lransfer of funds lo a
business, such as payment of a utility bill
or an MII Ioan inslaImenl, and aymenl in
erson in a relaiI environmenl. usinesses
aIso make aymenls lo individuaIs (2C),
such as governmenl veIfare aymenls, MII
Ioan disbursemenls, or saIary or exenses
aymenls from an emIoyer.
BI!! paymcnts: Some billers accept a
connection directly to their account
management system, but many use third
party PSPs to integrate multiple payment
mechanisms on lheir behaIf. The advanlage
of using a PSP is that they can incorporate
many biIIers in a singIe inlegralion, lhe
disadvanlage is lhal lhey execl a orlion
of lhe lransaclion fee.
In-stnrc mcrchant paymcnts: Merchanls
viII execl lo receive SMS conhrmalion
that a transaction has been completed
before lhe cuslomer Ieaves lhe sho. In
more deveIoed markels lhe merchanl
may use an onIine IS and may require
lhe lransaclions lo be conducled vilh lhis
IS. (These relaiIers may require simiIar
integration to perform agent cash-in and
cash-oul lransaclions.)
Bu!k paymcnts: To enabIe lhis fealure,
businesses viII normaIIy be given access lo
a sel of veb screens from vhich lhey can
administer bulk payment instructions, much
as lhey vouId adminisler ayroII. In some
syslems lhe MN has lo erform balch
payments on behalf of the business, but this
becomes exensive and lime consuming as
lhe service becomes more ouIar.
Bank transIcrs: As a service malures il may
choose lo Iink lhe mobiIe money service lo
customer bank accounts, either directly or
by using a svilch. Inlerconneclion belveen
mobiIe money and a bank aIIovs vaIue lo
be lransferred vilhoul having lo visil an
agenl. This funclionaIily aIso heIs agenls
lo manage lheir e-money oal and Iiquidily
more easiIy.
EVOLUTION OF MOBILE MONEY
As mobiIe money services evoIve lhere are
opportunities to offer enhanced products,
such as Ioans, savings, and insurance.
These roducls can eilher be offered di-
reclIy or via lhird arly seciaIisls lhal are
aid for using lhe mobiIe money Ialform.
The Ialform ilseIf lhus becomes an enabIer
for lhese nev services. An examIe of lhis
is Kenya's M-Shvari service. The handsel
menu usuaIIy has a secihc ilem for lrans-
ferring funds belveen a cuslomer's mobiIe
money and savings accounls. This uliIises
the same underlying bank transfer func-
lionaIily aIIoved by lhe Ialform inlerface
lo banking syslems.
CUSTOMER ADMINISTRATION
For security purposes, all handset users
need lo be abIe change lheir IIN. They
also need the ability to check their account
baIance and requesl a mini slalemenl. If
possible, they should be able to set a secu-
rily queslion (memorabIe dale, secrel vord,
elc.) lo assisl vilh idenlihcalion if lhey need
lo caII cuslomer service.
AGENT HIERARCHIES AND ADMINISTRATION
IdeaIIy, a good quaIily agenl dislribulion
nelvork has various dislribulion Iayers lhal
are created and administered correctly in
lhe Ialform. These Iayers Iimil lhe num-
ber of direcl reIalionshis lhal an MN
has vilh individuaI agenls, making lhe
dislribulion nelvork easier lo manage. In
some markets, independent retailers may
aIso rovide vhoIesaIe services lo olher
independent stores, creating further layers
of reIalionshis.
Lvery mobiIe money service has ils ovn
slruclure and a vendor shouId be exibIe
enough lo accommodale differenl modeIs.
Accommodalions shouId aIso be made vhen
lhe dislribulion modeI changes over lime. A
samIe hierarchy is shovn in Iigure 4.
The main consideralion in aII lhese reIalion-
shis is hov lhe commission viII be sIil.
Inlegraling aII lhese arlies inlo lhe mobiIe
money service deends on lhe abiIily of lhe
platform to support multi-distribution layers
and lhe lransfer of money belveen Iayers.
AGENT TRANSACTIONS
Registration, cash-in, and cash-out can all
be erformed by an agenl. In some markels,
agenls can aIso erform over-lhe-counler
(TC) versions of send money or biII ay-
menls on a cuslomer's behaIf.
AGENT ADMINISTRATION
Agcnt acccss tn thc p!atInrm: The funclion-
ality offered to the agent infrastructure de-
ends on lhe vendor. Whereas cuslomers are
usuaIIy reslricled lo accessing lhe service via
Agent activities
lheir handsel, il is referabIe lo aIIov busi-
nesses limited access to their mobile money
accounls onIine. IdeaIIy, masler agenls have
onIine access lo a veb inlerface from vhich
they can administer their e-money accounts
SUPERAGENT
MASTERAGENT
SECOND LEVEL AGENTS
FIGURE 4
A sample agent distribution hierarchy
AGENTS
OWNED OR MANAGED
BY MASTERAGENT
Superagents are responsible for the
sale of e-money to other agents using
the mobile money system to earn com-
mission. This can often be a bank or a
large retail chain.
Masteragents have a contractual
relationship with the MNO and (ide-
ally) access to on line mobile money
administration tools. They earn a com-
mission for each transaction made by
their sub-agents.
Standard agents usually use only hand-
sets to serve customer cash-in/cash-out
and registration.
There may be further layers of distribu-
tion relationships providing agent
services to customers.
MORE DETAILED RFPs
Platforms have added even more
exibility recently. The second round
of RFPs from MNOs shows that there
are clearer ideas from clients and
they are much more focussed on tight
distribution systems and advanced
nancial transactional capability.
Four or ve years ago the platforms
were only barely evolved airtime
platforms without a service-oriented
architecture. Now the service has
evolved to become better and
more functional.
Goulven Bescond,
Product Director, eServGlobal
THE PLATFORM
ITSELF THUS
BECOMES AN
ENABLER FOR THESE
NEW SERVICES. AN
EXAMPLE OF THIS IS
KENYAS M-SHWARI
SERVICE
16 GSMA - MOBILE MONEY FOR THE UNBANKED TECH PAPER 17
(e.g. oal managemenl, slalemenl access,
and reorl generalion). Some Ialforms aIso
aIIov normaI agenls lo have onIine access lo
generale reorls and slalemenls.
Agenls vilh handsels need lhe same
access to functions as those for custom-
ers: IIN change, slalemenl, and baIance
enquiry. Hovever, since lhey serve cus-
tomers directly and need to manage their
business more efhcienlIy, agenls require
some addilionaI looIs.
Mu!tIp!c assIstant IDs: As vilh many relaiI
organisalions, every agenl slaff member
shouId have lheir ovn idenlily vilhin lhe
slore syslem. Agenl (and merchanl) slores
should be able to identify multiple as-
sislanls using unique ID codes and one or
more handsels associaled vilh a secihc
slore. The agenl slore manager shouId be
abIe lo creale and remove assislanls as lheir
slaff lurns over.
Agcnt assIstant admInIstratIvc actIvItIcs:
Agenls need lo use lheir handsel lo
access lransaclion summaries for secihc
periods, reconciliation, mini statements,
and IIN changes.
MNO TRANSACTIONS
eralors adminislering lhe service al lhe
MN have a range of lasks lo erform. A
key hnanciaI lransaclion is converling cash
inlo e-money (and vice versa) as cash is
deosiled inlo (or vilhdravn from) an un-
derIying bank accounl. This is caIIed bank
reconciIialion. lher examIes incIude
lransferring funds belveen mobiIe money
accounts, making agent commission pay-
ments, and allocating funds to an agent ac-
counl. AII hnanciaI lransaclions, incIuding
bank reconciliation, should be performed
using a maker1checker rocedure (com-
mon in convenlionaI banking syslems) in
vhich one erson creales lhe lransaclion
and anolher aroves il. MobiIe money
services generaIIy require lhis, so vendors
need lo suorl lhis fealure.
MNO ADMINISTRATION
Back nIcc: This leam is resonsibIe for
selling u nev agenls and for on-going
adminislralion. Il is referabIe lhal lhe sys-
tem can accept the upload of spread-sheets
to create multiple agents in bulk as this
viII save a Iol of oeralor lime. Among lhe
many sales administration tasks are creat-
ing addilionaI agenl handsels (accounls)
in the system and closing non-performing
agenl accounls. This leam aIso needs lo cre-
ale delaiIed reorls on agenl aclivily (lrans-
aclions by agenl, roducl mix, oal IeveIs,
elc.) lo heI manage agenl erformance.
Custnmcr scrvIcc: Cuslomer service slaff
need access to customer and business (in-
cIuding agenl) accounl slalemenls in order
lo assisl vilh queries, freeze lhe accounl if
lhe hone is Iosl or sloIen, and resel IINs.
IdeaIIy, cuslomer care screens vouId be
inlegraled inlo an MN's core service
screens. In mosl MNs, lransaclions er-
formed in error can be reversed foIIoving
suilabIe arovaI, lhis lask may be assigned
lo cuslomer service or lhe hnance leam.
REPORTS
For commercial, operational, and regula-
lory reasons il is essenliaI lo have a slrong
suite of reports for all mobile money
aclivilies. AII of lhe dala suorling lhese
aclivilies shouId be recorded, high quaIily,
reliably reported, backed up, and made
readiIy avaiIabIe. Lach markel is IikeIy lo
have sIighlIy differenl reguIalory reorling
requiremenls and lhese musl be dehned as
arl of lhe Ialform secihcalion require-
menls. Mosl reguIalors require cuslomer
regislralions lo be screened againsl valch
Iisls and oIilicaIIy exosed erson Iisls
and lransaclionaI behaviour lo be moni-
lored for susicious aclivily. As bolh busi-
ness and regulatory requirements are likely
lo evoIve over lime, il is imorlanl lhal nev
reorls can be crealed reIaliveIy quickIy
and al IillIe or no exlra cosl. The abiIily lo
creale nev reorls quickIy (by adding or
droing heIds) can give vendors a com-
elilive advanlage.
The reguIalions governing mobiIe money
have been inheriled from lhe hnanciaI
vorId, vhich aIIovs mobiIe money reorls
to be stored for much longer time periods
lhan lradilionaI GSM reorls such as CDRs.
This can creale chaIIenges for lhe dala
varehouse and require addilionaI caacily.
CnnguratInn: Il is execled lhal con-
hguralion changes viII be required on
a reguIar basis in order lo, for examIe,
suorl romolionaI aclivilies and accom-
modate changes in tariff and account limit
reguIalions. Making lhese changes lhrough
vendor change requesls can be a Ienglhy
and coslIy exercise, so il is recommended
lhal lhe vendor rovide a conhguralion looI
lhal aIIovs MN oeralors lo make simIe
changes. These changes shouId aIso be sub-
|ecl lo maker1checker rocedures.
Acccss cnntrn!: Il is imorlanl lhal oera-
lors have dislincl roIes and onIy erform
lransaclions lhal faII vilhin lheir area of
resonsibiIily. There musl aIso be Iogs and
reorls of aII oeralor aclivilies in order lo
delecl fraud. Access lo lhe Iive serviceby
bolh MN and exlernaI oeralorsmusl
be slriclIy conlroIIed. As vilh any hnanciaI
service, lhe risk of fraud is high and il is
mandatory for user access to be granted
lhrough a formaI rocess. Il is recommend-
ed lhal access is onIy granled lo aroved
ICs, such as lhrough an SSL cerlihcale
dovnIoad. Service oeralors viII aIso need
to train employees on internal procedures
and access righls and resonsibiIilies.
FRAUD AND RISK
The imorlance of high quaIily securily and
fraud risk deleclion measures for a hnanciaI
service Iike mobiIe money cannol be over-
slaled. Il is recommended lhal risk revievs
are erformed on a reguIar basis and cover
aII asecls of lhe service, from CIT and AML
lo IT securily lo buiIding access. As vilh
mosl olher MN Ialforms, buiIding access
is imorlanl, IocaI access orls are common
on mobiIe money Ialforms. As menlioned
earlier, platform access control is a primary
vay lo minimise lhe risk of fraud. To en-
abIe AML aclivilies lhere musl be a record
of every lransaclion and oeralor aclivily,
incIuding vho erformed il, vhen, and lhe
accounls invoIved. Cuslomer KYC informa-
tion must be stored and be accessible upon
demand. Access shouId be given lo audilors
for susecled fraud invesligalions.
MNO activities
ALL FINANCIAL
TRANSACTIONS,
INCLUDING BANK
RECONCILIATION,
SHOULD BE
PERFORMED
USING A MAKER/
CHECKER
PROCEDURE
18 GSMA - MOBILE MONEY FOR THE UNBANKED TECH PAPER 19
PART 4:
RFP Development
& Evaluation
CREATING AN RFP
The receding seclions have oulIined lhe
technical and functional requirements that
shouId be considered vhen rearing
an RII for a mobiIe money syslem. Lach
element of the RFP should be categorised
based on business need.
In lhe rush lo gel services lo markel in lhe
earIy days of lhe induslry, MNs and ven-
dors kel RII rocesses and secihcalions
lo a minimum. Hovever, candid reorls
from MNs lhal enlered lhe induslry in a
hurry have reveaIed lhe shorlcomings of
lhis slralegy. Il is nov cIear lhal care musl
be taken to ensure that the business model,
commercial strategy, and product roadmap
are aII sound and cenlraI arls of lhe RII.
This is |usl as imorlanl as lechnicaI com-
Iiance checks and idenlifying hov
a requiremenl viII be mel during lhe
evaIualion rocess.
nce lhe RII rocess is comIele, vendors
need to feel that they are long-term part-
ners vilh lhe MN. Like MNs, vendors
analyse risks and long-term goals, and if
lhey susecl lhal lheir cIienls do nol have
a long-term commitment to the partner-
THE IMPORTANCE OF RFP
TEAM SELECTION
The background of the person
chosen to do the RFP and build the
relationships with vendors must
have the correct prole experi-
enced in vendor relations and ne-
gotiations. However the evaluation
must be objective and based on
vendor response and the evaluation
team must be made up of range of
technical and commercial people.
Imad Chishti, Telenor Pakistan
GROUP-WIDE RFPs VS.
INDIVIDUAL MARKET RFPs
The good news for vendors is that
a number of group-wide RFPs have
been issued from major players in
the mobile money industry. While
revenues from individual markets
can be higher, winning a group-wide
contract can help a vendor to de-
velop expertise, grow in stature, and
raise revenue to invest in research
and development.
Undoubtedly there are complica-
tions for a vendor attempting to
satisfy the various requirements of
multiple markets with just one or
two platforms in centralised hubs.
The last mile can become a huge
hurdle as the nuanced differences
across markets can be difcult to t
into extension layers, and Open APIs
may be required. Quite often, group
procurement and operating company
(OpCo) technical teams have dif-
fering opinions, so vendors need to
manage the relationships carefully.
As for MNOs, there are a number of
different strategies for dealing with
these various requirements:
s In some cases, a unique re-
quirement from an OpCo needs
to be kept separate and outside
the main RFP.
s In other cases, hardware and
platform levels are decided
upon at the group level, but the
unique requirements of each
OpCo are satised by software
extensions.
s In still other cases, the RFP
includes all of the requirements
from all markets so that the
list is complete and no features
are absent.
THE ROLE OF THE GROUP VS.
THE ROLE OF THE OPCO
The OpCo would not be too
concerned with regional or global
group policy or if we have a strong
alignment with the OpCo. The role of
the Group is to facilitate our OpCo
to achieve business success. With
this in mind, the governance and
decision-making become easier.
For example, at the group level
we query each RFP response:
s How are change requests going
to occur and be prioritized?
s Can the change request
be redeployed across to a
different OpCo?
s Does the solution t into our
framework?
Khuen How Ng, Millicom Group
shi, lhis can have a negalive effecl on
lhe reIalionshi.
EVALUATING AN RFP
nce RII resonses have been received,
lhey musl be evaIualed using a lo-dovn
strategy that maps the consumer proposi-
lion, lhe desired roducl mix, and service
deIivery. The evaIualions musl be carried
oul by bolh lechnicaI and commerciaI leams.
Aroven aroach for evaIualing an RII
response is to use an internal scorecard that
categorises requirements according to busi-
ness need, idenlihes lhem as mandalory or
optional, and then prioritises the require-
menls in each calegory. Il is imorlanl
lo Iimil lhe vendor shorlIisl lo a reaIislic
number. Reorls from MNs indicale lhal
lhree lo hve vendors rovide consumers
vilh suilabIe olions.
Vendors on a shorlIisl musl be invesligal-
ed and asked hov lhey viII comIy vilh
each requiremenl. In lurn, lhe MN musl
rovide a credibIe exIanalion of hov
a fealure viII be imIemenled (vendors
oflen ask MNs for addilionaI cIarihca-
20 GSMA - MOBILE MONEY FOR THE UNBANKED TECH PAPER 21
lion on ambiguous secihcalions). This is
a crilicaI hase in a deveIoing vendor-
cIienl reIalionshi.
Today il is common raclice lo requesl a
visil lo a Iive deIoymenl and lo meel vilh
currenl cIienls. If lhis is nol ossibIe, a dem-
onslralion shouId be given on a lesl, deveI-
omenl, or virluaI Ialform. IdeaIIy, MN
staff should be able to access this platform
for severaI days so lhey can check hov veII
il meels lheir Iisl of requiremenls.
ne of lhe ma|or comIainls heard from
MNs is lhe lime and cosl invoIved vilh
change requesls and Ialform deveIo-
menls. Visiling a vendor's headquarlers
and inlervieving exisling cIienls viII
rovide an MN vilh vaIuabIe informalion
about their ability to turn around change
requesls. Given lhe reIalive infancy of lhe
induslry, fev vendors have a Iarge slaff, so
il is imorlanl lo carefuIIy evaIuale vhelher
lhe vendor has lhe caacily lo manage bolh
nev and exisling cIienls. AbaIanced SLA
agreemenl as arl of a vider conlracl viII
rovide recourse for an MN.
RUSHED AND POORLY EXECUTED
RFP PROCESSES
What mistakes did you make in the
rst round RFP that you hope to cor-
rect in the second round?
First mistake was that we were hooked
on the quick salesman speech. We
needed to shop around a bit more and
speak to current active customers (at
the time) of the vendor. We should have
noticed that the vendor had no other
wallet-based deployments and very
little experience working with MNOs.
Mobile Money Manager,
The Americas
DELAYED AND PROTRACTED
MIGRATIONS
s Its not easy to match the set-
ups and parameters in the back-
end platform, one for one.
s Customers are already used to
a particular USSD ow. Chang-
ing some of the ows requires
thorough analysis to align
customer perception.
s Parameters such as chart of ac-
counts in the different platforms
are usually not set up in the
same formats. This is one of the
key problem areas and yet its
core for the business from a
revenue perspective.
Mobile Money Manager, Africa
TIME TO MARKET
s 0-3 months to get the RFP out
s 3-6 months to choose the vendor
s +3 months to pin down the
details of the contract
The more people you have in the
processthe time is not linear, it
becomes exponential.
Mobile Money Vendor Management
& Business Strategy Manager,
African Group MNO
Mosl MNs use a shorlIisl and a second
round of resonses and cIarihcalions lo
seIecl a vendor, aIlhough some MNs have
crealed a second shorlIisl. AhnaI consid-
eralion for MNs shouId be lhe vendor's
oIicy and exerience vilh syslem migra-
lion. Does lhe incoming vendor have a
Ian for hov lo roceed vilh a migralion,
a hislory of (successfuI) migralions, and
a soIulion for deaIing vilh uncooeralive
incumbents? Some of the mobile money
services inlervieved for lhis aer reorled
deIayed and rolracled Ialform migralion.
The limescaIe for hnishing lhe vendor
selection process and getting a platform to
run Iive lrafhc can lake anyvhere from 12
lo 24 monlhs, deending on lhe number of
markels lhal lhe Ialform viII serve.
THE FIRST STEP in selecting the best plat-
form for an MN's business needs is lo
buiId an underslanding of vhal is re-
quired from lhe business. Mosl imorlanl-
Iy, MNs need lo undersland lhal mobiIe
money is much more lhan a vaIue-added
service. Care musl be laken lo research lhe
sensilive nalure of a mobiIe money service
and understand the technical requirements
and functional layers of the platform
needed lo run il.
The nexl sle is lo creale a comrehensive,
detailed, and documented set of func-
tional requirements based on the business
strategy that can then be formulated into
an RII. There viII naluraIIy need lo be
some compromises in determining the best
vendor hl, so il is imorlanl lo ensure lhal
all essential requirements are met and that
there is a roadmap in place to add function-
aIily as required. Il is aIso essenliaI lhal any
RII resonse be evaIualed by bolh MN
technical and commercial teams, and that
lhe evaIualion is comrehensive.
PART 5:
Conclusion
As MNs face decIining revenues from lra-
dilionaI core leIecommunicalions services,
lhey are IikeIy lo move furlher inlo lhe
hnanciaI services domain. In order lo suc-
ceed they need to assign mobile money the
same riorily as a lradilionaI GSM service.
Choosing lhe righl mobiIe money Ialform
is lhe hrsl sle in lhis rocess.
TODAY IT IS
COMMON PRACTICE
TO REQUEST A
VISIT TO A LIVE
DEPLOYMENT AND
TO MEET WITH
CURRENT CLIENTS.
The MMU programme is supported by The Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation, The Mastercard Foundation and Omidyar Network.
For further information please contact
mmu@gsma.com
GSMA London Ofce
T +44 (0) 20 7356 0600