Journal Issue: Mobile Money in Developing Countries

Recently the Washington Journal on Law Technology & the Arts issued a symposium issue entitled "Mobile Money Symposium 2013." Description:

This special issue of the Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts contains papers contributed to a conference held at the University of Washington School of Law on April 20, 2012. The conference, entitled Mobile Money in Developing Countries: Financial Inclusion and Financial Integrity, was organized by the University of Washington School of Law with the support of the Linden Rhoads Dean’s Innovation Fund, Deakin University School of Law, Australia, and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

All of the papers are available for download. They are:

• The 2012 Revised FATF Recommendations: Assessing and Mitigating Mobile Money Integrity Risks within the New Standards Framework by Louis de Koker; 
• Governance of Global Mobile Money Networks: The Role of Technical Standards by Jane K. Winn; 
• Privacy and Security Concerns Associated with Mobile Money Applications in Africa by Andrew Harris, Seymour Goodman, and Patrick Traynor; 
• The Role of UNCITRAL Texts in Promoting a Harmonized Legal Framework for Cross-Border Mobile Payments by Luca G. Castellani; 
• Mobile Money as an Engine of Financial Inclusion and Lynchpin of Financial Integrity by Claire Alexandre and Lynn Chang Eisenhart; 
• The Role of Anti-Money Laundering Law in Mobile Money Systems in Developing Countries by Emery S. Kobor; 
• M-Payments in Brazil: Notes on How Country Background May Determine Timing and Design of Regulatory Model by Gilberto Martins de Almeida; 
• Safaricom and M-PESA in Kenya: Financial Inclusion and Financial Integrity by Mercy W. Buku and Michael W. Meredith; 
• Mobile Money, Financial Inclusion and Financial Integrity: The South African Case by Vivienne A. Lawack-Davids; 
• Reporting of Suspicious Activity by Mobile Money Service Providers in Accordance with International Standards: How Does it Impact on Financial Inclusion? by Miriam Goldby; and 
• Mobile Payments In The U.S.: How Disintermediation May Affect Delivery of Payment Functions, Financial Inclusion and Anti-Money Laundering Issues by Erin F. Fonté.

The one on Safaricom looks like a fascinating case study:

The recent and widespread availability of affordable mobile phone technology in developing countries has paved the way for the development of a number of mobile money and electronic remittance services. One of the most successful of these services is Safaricom’s M-PESA program, launched in the East African nation of Kenya in March 2007. Since then, the program has successfully enrolled 15.2 million users, transferred more than US$1.4 trillion in electronic funds, and contributed significantly to poverty alleviation and financial inclusion efforts in rural Kenya. This Article seeks to trace the development of M-PESA in Kenya, provide a snapshot of the Kenyan implementation of and experience with the program, and consider the role that services like M-PESA might play in national and international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing efforts. 

Interesting throughout.