Trade in Financial Services: Mobile Banking in Southern Africa

This paper attempts to expand access to finance through rapid, but safe growth of domestic and cross-border branchless banking, with appropriate protections for customers and the financial system.Migration patterns in Southern Africa have important implications for domestic and cross-border remittances. The two key migration corridors are Namibia-Angola-Zambia and South Africa-Mozambique-Malawi.The paper states that focus countries have very different regulatory regimes pertaining to mobile banking (m-banking) and cross-border m-banking, and are at very different stages in the development of their m-banking facilities. It presents the following recommendations for regulators and policy makers:

• Continue to improve regulatory framework for domestic branchless banking and low-value cross-border transfers in Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia;
• Permit development of pilots for domestic and cross-border transactions;
• Create regulatory space for domestic branchless banking and low-value cross-border transfers in Angola and Malawi;
• Support branchless banking initiatives targeting the unbanked;
• Provide opportunities for stakeholders in target countries to learn from branchless banking pioneers worldwide;
• Create opportunities for extensive stakeholder collaboration and a possible pilot project for cross-border transfers.