Second Regional Workshop on Mobile Financial Services
UfM Headquarters in Barcelona, 7 September 2015
In the framework of the Mobile Finance project Promoting Financial Inclusion via Mobile Financial Services in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries, labelled by the Senior Officials of the Union for the Mediterranean on 2 June 2014, the UfM Secretariat is organising the Second Regional Workshop on Mobile Financial Services which is to be held on 7 September 2015 at its headquarters in Barcelona.
The project aims to support expanded access to financial services for people across the Mediterranean region 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 specificities of each country.
In support of the regional dimension of the project, the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean, acting as a dialogue platform, is organising two working sessions to promote regional partnerships and share best practice among the countries participating in this project (Jordan and Morocco), as well as exploring the possibility of extending the project to other countries (Egypt and Tunisia).
The First Regional Workshop, held on 1 October 2014, looked at the regulations for the deployment of mobile financial services in the region, in particular e-money and agent regulation.
In this Second Regional Workshop, participants will examine the question of the effectiveness of alternative financial service distribution models based on mobile finance/branchless banking implemented in the Southern Mediterranean region. Indeed, mobile finance/branchless banking (mobile financial services) business models can expand access to finance to the unbanked by reducing transaction costs through the use of prepaid platforms, agents’ networks, alternative risk management policies, optimisation of remittances, and new or reformed retail payment architectures.
OBJECTIVES OF THE MEETING
The workshop will discuss the following:
- Update on the regulatory framework/financial infrastructure of mobile financial services and branchless banking per country
- Existing mobile financial services/branchless banking offerings
- MFIs’ participation in the partnerships and services offered
- Evaluation of the existing partnerships
- Support of existing or potential partnerships with financial inclusion potential
