A Note on Macro-Financial Implications of Mobile Money Schemes

Across the world mobile money schemes are being launched. In such schemes financial service providers interact with clients via mobile phones or other mobile devices such as tablets. Service offerings include payments and saving as well as basic insurance products and sometimes credit based on scoring methods that use information about the client’s payment history. This note from Michael Klein and Ignacio Mas discusses several systemic issues that arise from mobile payment schemes: (i) the impact of “e-money” on money supply, (ii) problems posed by financial distress of mobile money schemes, and (iii) the impact of mobile money schemes on money-laundering and illicit finance,