Promoting social inclusion: Mobile Financial Services Project moves forward

Barcelona, 7 September 2015. The Second Regional Workshop of the Mobile Finance Project was held on 7 September at the UfM Secretariat headquarters in Barcelona. During the session the UfM examined the question of the effectiveness of alternative financial service distribution models based on mobile finance/branchless banking implemented by partnerships including Microfinance Institutions in Jordan and Morocco, already participating in the project, as well as Egypt and Tunisia, represented for the first time, in view of possibly joining the initiative.

During the session, the results of the implementation analysis were discussed. Indeed, mobile financial services offered by microfinance institutions could become not only the catalyser for the uptake of mobile financial services in the region but also a critical tool for their sustainability in terms of improved efficiency and lower delinquency ratios.

The first regional workshop, organised by the UfM in October 2014, analysed regulation for the deployment of mobile financial services in the region, in particular e-money and agent regulation, with the purpose of sharing the experiences of selected European Central Banks in the transposition of the Directive on Payment Services (2007/64/EC) and the E-Money Directive (2009/110/EC).

In accordance with the work programme of the labelled project, the two regional workshops organised by the UfM aim to support the regional dimension of the project.

The project, which was awarded the UfM label in June 2014 and was launched in October 2014, aims to support expanded access to financial services across the population in Jordan and Morocco, through the development of innovative retail payment solutions such as mobile financial services. This objective is to be achieved through a comprehensive package of technical assistance and capacity building actions adapted to the specific needs of each country.