The Mobile Money Regulatory Index
In September 2018 we launched the Mobile Money Regulatory Index, an interactive tool that measures the effectiveness of mobile money regulatory frameworks.
The Index includes 90 countries globally and scores them between 0-100, with a higher score associated with more enabling regulation.
It provides policy makers and regulators with specific insights into policy areas where targeted interventions may be employed to help enable growth in mobile money adoption and usage and overall financial inclusion.
Generally, regulations are categorised as either enabling or non-enabling, limiting its usability for the regulator and providers. The Mobile Money Regulatory Index does a nuanced analysis of the regulation by quantitatively examining the impact of various indicators on regulation allowing for a deeper analysis of regulatory enablers.
The Index includes six dimensions covering 26 indicators.
- Authorisation: eligibility, authorisation instruments, capital requirements, international remittances.
- Consumer protection: safeguarding of funds, consumer protection rules, deposit insurance.
- Transaction limits: entry-level transaction limits, entry-level monthly limits, entry-level balance limits, maximum transaction limits, maximum monthly limits, maximum balance limits.
- Know-Your-Customer (KYC): permitted identifications, KYC requirements, KYC proportionality.
- Agent networks: agent eligibility, agent authorisation, agent activities, agent liability.
- Investment and infrastructure environment: financial inclusion strategy, affordability, ID verification infrastructure, interoperability, settlement access, interest payments.
Research and analysis
We have recently revamped the Index to capture the rapidly evolving mobile money industry and the corresponding policy and regulatory frameworks. The 2023 edition of the MMRI report not only reflects these dynamic changes in the actual texts of the regulatory framework but also considers operational aspects.
The 2022 Regulatory Index report provides a lens to examine longer term regulatory trends since the inception of the tool in 2018.
In the 2021 report, we delve into each country profiles in detail providing context to the components of regulation that favour mobile money growth and usage, as well as the areas that may be improved. The report features the specific regulatory instruments for mobile money that were assessed when the building the MMRI. It also provides an overview of the top movements and the attributable regulatory changes.
The 2019 report accompanies the first update of the Mobile Money Regulatory Index, analysing 90 countries.
In the 2018 report, we examine in detail the six key facets of regulation and an analysis of more than 80 countries. The assessment of each market includes analysis of the prevailing regulatory instruments in the focus countries and has been supplemented by interviews with technical experts
and regulators.
We also cover the objectives and structure of the Index and the importance of an enabling regulatory environment for mobile money.
Watch the video
Understand what it is, explore the the core features of the tool and learn how it can be beneficial to regulators, mobile money providers and the donor community.
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