Interoperability in mobile money has been a topic of discussion within the industry for some time. In a new paper we look broadly at interoperability and outline some opportunities for better-connected mobile money platforms. Efforts made by the industry so far, as well as potential ways forward are discussed.

There are two things to keep in mind when discussing interoperability in mobile money. First, the maturity of the mobile money deployments in the market will define the content and timing of the discussion. Most mobile money deployments are busy building the foundation of their services, such as a strong agent network and an active customer base, and cannot invest in connections to external parties. This becomes more possible for advanced deployments.

Second, it is important to be open to the opportunities that a better-connected mobile money environment can realise, and not prematurely focus on the technical solution or which assets should be shared. Interoperability is a tool and not an end goal by itself. Market players will likely drive this development if there are clear strategic and financial incentives to do so.

Interoperability and regulation will be discussed further at the Leadership Forum at the NFC & Mobile Money Summit in Milan next week. That discussion will take up from a previous MMU engagement on interoperability and regulation at the AFI Global Policy Forum, which highlights can be found here.

Download the full report Expanding the Ecosystem of Mobile Money: Considerations for Interoperability. Keep an eye on this blog as MMU will focus more on different forms of interoperability in mobile money in the months to come. Please send us your feedback by posting comments below or via email.