The GSMA Mobile Money Certification was launched to bring safer, more transparent, trusted and more resilient financial services to millions of mobile money users around the world. It does this by promoting excellence in the provision of mobile money services and setting a public bar to which all mobile money providers can aspire. The Certification is based on independent assessments of a mobile money provider’s ability to deliver secure and reliable services, to protect the rights of consumers and to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism in line with industry and global best practices.

The Certification complements local regulations by providing guidance to providers on how to implement international best practices from a practical and operational perspective. As an industry-driven initiative, it acts as an aspiration for mobile money providers to go beyond compliance with regulation and achieve excellence in risk management and consumer protection. Responsible business practices are essential to help regulators achieve their goals around financial inclusion, stability, integrity and consumer protection.

The purpose of this GSMA Mobile Money Certification guidance is to: foster a common understanding among mobile money providers of what constitutes acceptable evidence of compliance for each principle of the GSMA Mobile Money Certification; set out key elements of acceptable evidence for Certification assessment; encourage mobile money providers in fragile and high-risk markets to use this guidance to assess their related policies and procedures and make changes, as appropriate. This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Certification toolkit.