Standards and Practices Report for Electronic and Mobile Payments

This paper provides an assessment framework to USAID to leverage and assist missions and implementing partners in promoting electronic and mobile payments expansion.The paper evaluates the existing payment mechanisms to understand their benefits, limitations, and suitability. It then provides an analysis of government regulation and guidelines as well as industry standards that serve as a framework for payment transactions. The paper identifies various stakeholders and studies their angle in mobile money. Following a study of the risk profiles for each payment, strategies for risk mitigation related to each payment type were discussed. Actions that may positively affect the risk landscape include:

• USAID missions and implementing partners may engage with other members in the payments ecosystem such as mobile network operators, commercial banks, and central bank to pilot novel payment efforts. These collaborations provide a relatively lower risk profile and allow for experimentation to prove longer term viability;
• Local regulatory bodies and government entities may respond to the market and modify local regulations to include consideration of electronic and mobile payment types. This could significantly impact the risk assessment for a relevant program;
• If additional electronic or mobile payments providers enter the market, it could significantly alter the quality and cost of payments services.