Global ETD Search

1	Interconnection of Two Different Payment Systems / Sammankoppling av två olika betalningssystem Ammouri, Kevin, Cho, Kangyoun January 2019 (has links) Mobile money, a means of transferring payments via mobile devices, has become increasingly popular. The demand for convenient financial products or services is a crucial factor in why innovative developers want to incorporate mobile money into existing financial products/services. The goal is to provide convenient financial services that enable customers to quickly send and receive money between two mobile payment platforms. The Swedish blockchain company, Centiglobe, is searching for a system whereby payments can be made conveniently between two mobile payment platforms, specifically Alipay and M PESA. This thesis sought to develop such a system by utilizing the application programming interfaces (APIs) (provided by Alipay and M PESA) coupled with Centiglobe’s blockchain to facilitate payments between an Alipay user and an M PESA user. Solving this problem began with an initial literature study of previous work related to this topic and reading the extensive API documentation provided by Alipay and Daraja Safaricom (the developers of M PESA). Next, a flowchart was created and used as a guide throughout the development of the system. Testing the system entailed integration testing. The performance of the system was determined by measuring the execution time to make a cross system payment. A one-way transfer system was developed, as Alipay users can make a payment to M PESA users but not the reverse. The results of the integration testing shows that the system is a feasible solution. The execution time of a payment shows that it is relatively quick (~9.1 seconds); thus the performance is adequate.The conclusion is that this system is a viable solution for incorporating Alipay and M PESA as mobile payment services. Moreover, the system partially facilitates person-to-person payments between them – subject to the limitations of the Alipay API. In addition, this system provides a foundation for other inter-platform mobile payment solutions. / Mobila pengar, ett sätt att överföra betalningar via mobila enheter, har blivit alltmer populära. Efterfrågan på praktiska finansiella produkter eller tjänster är en avgörande faktor för varför innovativa utvecklare vill integrera mobila pengar i befintliga finansiella produkter / tjänster. Målet är att tillhandahålla praktiska finansiella tjänster som gör det möjligt för kunder att snabbt skicka och ta emot pengar mellan två mobila betalningsplattformar. Det svenska blockchainföretaget Centiglobe söker ett system där betalningar kan göras bekvämt mellan två mobila betalningsplattofrmar, särskilt Alipay och M-PESA. Denna avhandling försökte utveckla ett sådant system genom att använda applikationspogrammerinsgränssnitt (API) (tillhandahållet av Alipay och M-PESA) i kombination med Centiglobe’s blockchain för att underlätta betalningar mellan en Alipay-användare och en M-PESA-användare. Lösningen av detta problem började med en första litteraturstudie av tidigare arbeten relaterat till detta ämne samt en omfattande läsning av API-dokmentationen från Alipay och Daraja Safaricom (utvecklarna av M-PESA). Därefter skapades ett flödesschema och detta användes som en guide under hela utvecklingen av systemet. Testning av systemet medförde integrationstestning. Systemets prestanda bestämdes genom att mäta exekveringstiden för att göra ett tvärsystemsbetalning. Ett envägsöverföringssystem utvecklades, eftersom Alipay-användare kan göra en betalning till M-PESA-användare men inte tvärtom. Resultaten av integrationstestningen visar att systemet är en genomförbar lösning. Utbetalningstiden för en betalning visar att den är relativt snabb (~9.1 sekunder); därav en lagom prestanda. Slutsatsen är att detta system är en lönsam lösning för att integrera Alipay och M-PESA som mobila betalningstjänster. Dessutom underlättar systemet delvis personliga betalningar mellan dem – med förbehåll för begräsningarna i Alipay API. Dessutom erbjuder detta system en grund för andra mobila betalningslösningar mellan plattformarna. Alipay M PESA API Integration Blockchain Alipay M PESA RESTful API Integration Blockchain Communication Systems Kommunikationssystem
2	Examining the adoption, usage and outcomes of mobile money services : the case of M-PESA in Kenya Morawczynski, Olga January 2011 (has links) This thesis will examine the adoption, usage and outcomes of a mobile money service called MPESA. Since being launched in 2007, the service has seen phenomenal growth in Kenya. Over 7.5 million users, or 34% of the adult population, have registered with M-PESA. Such growth is impressive as it has surpassed other ICTs in the country. This includes the mobile phone, which has been hailed as the fastest growing ICT in Africa. It has also surpassed the growth of mobile money in the North, where many services have been discontinued because they failed to attract a sufficient number of customers. M-PESA thus provides an interesting case of an ICT growing rapidly in the South, and “failing” in the North. In this context, the first part of the thesis examines why such rapid growth occurred. This analysis is presented from two perspectives. First, the socio-technical systems framework is used to present M-PESA as a complex system rather than an isolated application. This perspective makes clear that M-PESA grew rapidly because it had a dedicated team of system builders. These individuals took numerous strategies to enroll the elements and maintain the stability of the entire system. They further worked to engineer the social, economic, legal and political environments of the technology. Growth is also explained from the perspective of the user. The thesis makes clear that M-PESA was widely adopted because it fit into existing social practices and systems of logic. In other words, it helped users to do what they were doing before the technology was introduced. This includes money transfers back home. It also includes savings. The thesis further reveals that financial practices began to change as M-PESA became integrated into daily life. For example, users began to send money home more often. They also increased the number of their savings transactions. Such changing practices engendered a variety of consequences to daily life. This includes rising household incomes in the rural areas. It also includes new struggles over limited resources. The impacts, or wider-scale implications of usage, are also discussed. The analysis shows that a whole industry for mobile money developed as a result of M-PESA’s success. The thesis makes a contribution to knowledge in several ways. It presents a case of domestication in the South and highlights the unique factors that shape this process, from wide-scale political violence to structures of debt and obligation. It further makes the relationship between technologies and impact more clear. It shows that the technology itself does not engender the outcomes. It does, however, have a role in shaping the practices that do. 337
3	The Digitalization of Development: Understanding the Role of Technology and Innovation in Development through a Case Study of Kenya and M-Pesa Schachter, Kara 01 January 2019 (has links) This thesis analyzes the connection of mobile phone technology to increased economic development in Kenya. Drawing on previous research, I first examine the state of development by analyzing social, political, and economic factors in Kenya in 2007/2008. I then examine the role of technology on these development factors in Kenya by focusing on the rapid rise of mobile money platform M-Pesa and the rise of decentralized banking. This thesis finds that M-Pesa’s success stems from the failure of public trust in traditional institutions, collaboration between the public, private, and nonprofit sector, initial lack of regulation to promote innovation, and heavy consumer testing to create the best product-market fit. Additionally, in comparison to other sub-Saharan countries, Kenya’s institutions have more willingly allowed for nontraditional methods of investment and aid. While none of these results are entirely conclusive, evidence suggests that the rise of mobile money and technological innovation has attributed heavily to economic development into 2018, but that social and political development factors are still restrained. Ultimately, technology is not the solution to all factors of cyclical poverty, but it can create new approaches to previously neglected development constraints. Development Kenya Technology M-Pesa Innovation Mobile money International Relations
4	Communication technology, capabilities and livelihoods: the role of mobile money in facilitating financial inclusion and development in rural Kenya Tuwei, David Kiplagat 01 May 2018 (has links) In urban and rural Kenya, mobile money, the use of the mobile telephone for banking has become a part of everyday life. People use mobile money to accomplish a variety of functions such as transfer money, save, and pay bills, among other uses. At the national level, the government considers mobile money important for individual and national development. Safaricom’s M-Pesa, the most popular mobile money application has received praise for enabling people in the rural areas to access financial services. This research examines the role of mobile money in the everyday lives of people in rural Kenya, especially ordinary users of M-Pesa and M-Pesa agents that facilitate these services. The findings from this research are based on a three-month period of fieldwork on M-Pesa use and facilitation in Chepkoilel, a rural community in western Kenya. Three questions guided this research: how has M-Pesa fit into people’s existing financial cultures and practices? How do people perceive M-Pesa and the role of the service in facilitating their development or financial mobility? How do M-Pesa agents perceive their role in the mobile money ecosystem? Data were collected using interviewing and observation methods. In this research, I found that M-Pesa users and M-Pesa agents utilized M-Pesa for their individual development. Notably, the M-Pesa agency business model had provided new opportunities for entrepreneurship to rural dwellers. Equally important, the application was fundamental for facilitating local-local and global-local financial flows. The ease of making financial remittances through M-Pesa had saved people the cost of transport to the banking halls in town, and made it easy for participants to forward their chama, or self-help group contributions. However, despite the speed and convenience of transactions brought by M-Pesa, there were widespread perceptions that financial management had been made difficult by the fact that money was now so fluid on M-Pesa, a contrast to the time when people used cash. At the same time, Safaricom’s introduction of M-Shwari, the digital saving platform had provided people with an alternative avenue with which to save and borrow money. Though M-Shwari fostered the privacy of financial transactions, among other perceived advantages, the application was displacing long-held collectivist financial habits by introducing individualistic financial practices. This study has also examined the intermediary work of M-Pesa agents in the mobile money ecosystem. As nodes linking Safaricom and its customers, M-Pesa agents were important actors in the system of exchange and value. Their domestication practices were critical to the integration of M-Pesa within the population. Furthermore, as informediaries, they provided socio-technical information that Safaricom used to improve the service. However, their work was often impeded by increasing cases of digital insecurity, and agents found themselves thrust in the role of the management of safety of M-Pesa transactions despite their limited financial knowledge. Finally, in unexpected ways, M-Pesa agents were engaged in the shaping of M-Pesa to suit the local social, cultural and economic remittance practices of the community they served. In the end, these actions benefited their development, the development of their clients, and Safaricom’s business. However, contrary to the prevailing perception, the study found that M-Pesa’s contribution towards financial inclusion was felt more in the informal economy rather than in the formal economy. I conclude that though M-Pesa was important for people’s development, the low-income population faced digital divide challenges in their attempts to utilize M-Pesa for their development. For instance, the relative high cost of services led to non-adoption of M-Pesa by some demographics. Non-literacy and lack of digital skills were other problems users faced. Development Kenya Mobile Money Mobile Telephones M-Pesa Safaricom Mass Communication
5	GSM Based Technology as a Tool to Reach Higher Financial Inclusion in Rural Areas : The Digitising of Savings Groups Peebo, Jeanna, Kosovic, Alexandra January 2019 (has links) Digital aid to increase financial inclusion in developing countries is an increasing area of interest growing together with the global expansion of mobile phone penetration. This paper analyzes technical, social and financial aspects of the possibility of digitizing Xitique, a local community-based microfinance model in rural Mozambique. The aim was to understand the technical requirements of building a GSM based application while preserving cultural importance and the native features of the Xitique savings method. Data was gathered through field studies, where technical experts and the target group, being rural women, provided extensive contributions for the thesis’ findings. The results proved substantial evidence supporting the motive of developing a Xitique application from both a social as well as economic perspective. This was supported by the expressed customer demand that, as part of the result, emanated in a prototype and sustainable Social Business Model for the Xitique application’s service / Användning av digitala hjälpmedel för att öka ekonomiska inkludering i utvecklingsländer är ett växande intresseområde som tilltar tillsammans med den globala expansionen av mobilanvändning. I denna rapport analyseras tekniska, sociala och finansiella aspekter av möjligheten att digitalisera Xitique, en lokal samhällsbaserad mikrofinansmodell på landsbygden i Moçambique. Syftet med arbetet var att förstå de tekniska kraven för en GSM-baserad applikation och hur kulturell betydelse bäst kunde bevaras genom den digitala imitationen av de existerande metoderna som används i den traditionella Xitiquen. Data samlades genom fältstudier där tekniska experter och målgruppen, kvinnor på landsbygden, gav omfattande bidrag till avhandlingens resultat. Resultatet visade att det fanns väsentliga bevis som stöder motivet att utveckla en Xitique-applikation från både ett socialt som ekonomiskt perspektiv. Detta understödjs vidare av den uttryckta efterfrågan hos kvinnorna, som en del av resultatet, ledde till en prototyp och en hållbar social affärsmodell för en Xitique-applikation. USSD Savings Groups Xitique Financial inclusion Women empowerment M-pesa Computer and Information Sciences Data- och informationsvetenskap
6	Exploring consumer intentions to use the M-pesa financial service: a comparative study of low-income communities in Kenya and South Africa Osah, Olam 15 March 2013 (has links) Abstract Recent times have witnessed increasing availability of mobile technology-based products/services in developing regions such as Africa. However, the extant literature has not traditionally focused on understanding the adoption and use of these technologies by consumers in these parts of the world. This gap cannot be ignored and the need to investigate consumer intention to use mobile based-technology in this region is becoming paramount to their successful implementation. One such mobile-based technology is the M-pesa financial service. The current study merged appropriate theories that could predict consumer intention to use this M-pesa service in two African countries, Kenya and South Africa. First, the two countries were compared in an attempt to provide an explanation of why the launch of the M-pesa service has been more successful in Kenya than in South Africa. It then examined the effects of the Technology Acceptance Model variables (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use), subjective norm from the Theory of Reasoned Action, self efficacy from the Social Cognitive Theory, and six dimensions of Switching Costs, on consumers intention to use M-pesa. To measure the study’s variables, validated scales from the IS literature, social psychology literature, and economics literature were identified and adopted. Data were collected using paper based survey instruments from individuals residing in low-income communities in Kenya (N=265) and South Africa (N=150), thus a total of 415 responses. The results indicate there are correlations between all variables and intention to use, however, only perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and subjective norms have a direct influence on intention to use M-pesa. The model explained 33.1% of the variance in intention to use M-pesa. The results suggest that while switching costs do not have a direct influence on intention to use, some of their effects are mediated in predicting intention to use. Thus, this study has paved the way for future testing and enhancement of the study’s model. The study’s contribution to theory and practice are also presented. M-pesa Mobile technology-based products/service Intention to use Consumer behaviour Computing behaviour TAM TRA SCT Switching cost
7	Financial freedom in mobile money: the role of the central bank in Zimbabwe Nduna, Chipo 19 April 2020 (has links) Magister Legum - LLM / This paper analyses how the Zimbabwean economic history has led to the perception and attitude of the population towards the financial industry. It has been blighted by extremes to the extent that in 2008 the Zimbabwe economy had one of the highest hyperinflation rate in the world.1 Pettinger sums up the hyperinflation journey of Zimbabwe as having begun in the 1990s shortly after the disastrous land reform.2 This is where private farms were grabbed from landowners and re-allocated to mostly peasant farmers who had no technical know-how in farming. It was also a time when the country was involved in an unbudgeted and unsolicited second Congo civil war necessitating that the Government increase salaries to cater for soldiers and other officials assigned to the Congo.3 Earlier on the government had buckled under pressure from former war liberators (war veterans) and paid out unbudgeted bonuses.4 Agents Consumer protection E-float E-money E-wallet Eco-cash Financial regulation M-Pesa Mobile money Mobile Network Operators Money transfer Unbanked
8	The “bi-directional” influence between technology and society: how M-PESA is shaping and being shaped by society in Kenya Gebregziabher, Sosina Abraha 17 February 2012 (has links) M-PESA (a mobile banking service in Kenya) was introduced to offer a person-to-person money transfer service. Its extensive adoption and appropriation for purposes other than person-to-person transfers has influenced the technology providers (Safaricom) to widen their services beyond their original intentions. M-PESA provides a wide range of financial services including services for people who were previously unbanked. Users of M-PESA can now pay different utilities, those without credit cards can purchase products online, others can repay loans to microfinance institutions, pay insurance premiums, withdraw money from ATMs, use it as Point of Sale Payment and open savings accounts. This research examines the existence of “bi-directional” influences between technology and society by taking M-PESA business users as a case. It specifically investigates how M-PESA as a technology has influenced the business environment in Kenya and how the design of M-PESA has in turn been influenced by its adoption. The research adopts the Adaptive Structuration Theory as the theoretical framework and interpretive case study research as a methodological approach. Interviews with different stakeholders in the industry were used to collect data. Data was analyzed using Diachronic Analysis. The results of the research show that there is a “bi-directional” influence between technology and people as they affect each other over time. Mobile technologies shape the way businesses operate, allowing them to provide new services and improve existing ones. At the same time, usage and adoption trends affect the design of mobile technologies. Over time, technology is adapted to accommodate the new needs of businesses and other needs in the wider community. This research shows that the impact of technology depends not only on its functionality but also on its use and appropriation in society. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Informatics / unrestricted Adaptive structure theory Developing countries Technology and society Financial inclusion Technology appropriation Technology adaptation Mobile money Mobile phones Kenya Mobile banking M-pesa Bi-directional influence UCTD
9	Towards an ICT artefact for financial inclusion in Ghana: a critical realist perspective Agyepong, Stephen 02 1900 (has links) Financial exclusion is a major developmental problem. Perception has it that financial exclusion emanates from the lack of access to banking and financial services, and the general understanding is that ICT-based access to such services is the solution. In this research, which was undertaken in Ghana, Critical Realism (CR) revealed deeper causes (generative mechanisms) that underlie financial exclusion. The research followed a mixed-method approach. The CR approach guided the research to create an initial model from which hypotheses were deduced and tested; the design science approach, guided the research to create the design theory and an instantiation of an application that uses the design theory; and the quantitative method, was used to evaluate the hypotheses. CR revealed how, in a credit economy, people have a need for credit to pursue business or education opportunities. The generative mechanisms identified have revealed how the credit market for the unbanked includes the reality that a wellfunctioning credit market is self-sustaining with two mechanisms: signalling and adoption. The signalling mechanism facilitates users’ access to credit, which they in turn are able to spend on more services. On the other hand, the adoption mechanism enables the development of more services making the market more valuable, thus attracting more users in a self-feeding loop. The key findings suggest that being banked does not necessarily lead to financial inclusion and financial wellbeing. Transactional banking only serves as an "enrichment agenda for the banks", with minimal benefit to the people. There are also other non-financial technologies such as sharing and social technologies that have an effect on the provision of credit; in addition to their main purpose of saving and/or earning income, for the unbanked, by sharing resources. In Ghana, despite having bank accounts, most of the banked do not use them, because of cost and inappropriate services. This research reveals that the unexamined notion of being banked as a fundamental requirement for financial inclusion may require further investigation. The research has found that the unbanked keeping to themselves and the use of cash creates anonymity and makes them invisible to formal financial institutions, who prefer identity over anonymity, thus contributing to their financial exclusion. The following design needs were identified: inexpensive credit and value-added services such as saving groups, financial accounting services, service to report delinquent customers and education. The research offers a conceptualization of a financial inclusion ICT artefact to draw attention to the multifaceted and complex environment financial inclusion effort is immersed. This calls for an integrated approach since the issues with financial exclusion extend beyond financials and have an effect on the broader society. The research, therefore, proposes a substantive framework for improving the design and development of financial inclusive systems, which helps build trust using obligation transactions. It offers an approach to computing an individual’s financial inclusiveness, which also helps safeguard his/her financial wellbeing. The thesis makes a contribution to Information Systems theory in proposing a framework on financial inclusion using ICT. The contribution to practice is the design of an ICT artefact. / School of Computing / Ph. D. (Computer Science) Action design research Agency banking Blockchain Critical realism Design theory Digital currency E-zwich Fingerprint Financial inclusion Mobile money M-PESA Smart payment system Socio-technical infrastructure 332.170285467809667 Financial institutions -- Ghana Internet banking -- Ghana Electronic funds transfers -- Ghana Credit -- Ghana
10	Legal and regulatory aspects of mobile financial services Perlman, Leon Joseph 11 1900 (has links) The thesis deals with the emergence of bank and non-bank entities that provide a range of unique transaction-based payment services broadly called Mobile Financial Services (MFS) to unbanked, underserved and underbanked persons via mobile phones. Models of MFS from Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), banks, combinations of MNOs and banks, and independent Mobile Financial Services Providers are covered. Provision by non-banks of ‘bank-type’ services via mobile phones has been termed ‘transformational banking’ versus the ‘additive banking’ services from banks. All involve the concept of ‘branchless banking’ whereby ‘cash-in/cash out’ services are provided through ‘agents.’ Funds for MFS payments may available through a Stored Value Product (SVP), particularly through a Stored Value Account SVP variant offered by MNOs where value is stored as a redeemable fiat- or mobile ‘airtime’-based Store of Value. The competitive, legal, technical and regulatory nature of non-bank versus bank MFS models is discussed, in particular the impact of banking, payments, money laundering, telecommunications, e-commerce and consumer protection laws. Whether funding mechanisms for SVPs may amount to deposit-taking such that entities could be engaged in the ‘business of banking’ is discussed. The continued use of ‘deposit’ as the traditional trigger for the ‘business of banking’ is investigated, alongside whether transaction and paymentcentric MFS rises to the ‘business of banking.’ An extensive evaluation of ‘money’ based on the Orthodox and Claim School economic theories is undertaken in relation to SVPs used in MFS, their legal associations and import, and whether they may be deemed ‘money’ in law. Consumer protection for MFS and payments generally through current statute, contract, and payment law and common law condictiones are found to be wanting. Possible regulatory arbitrage in relation to MFS in South African law is discussed. The legal and regulatory regimes in the European Union, Kenya and the United States of America are compared with South Africa. The need for a coordinated payments-specific law that has consumer protections, enables proportional risk-based licensing of new non-bank providers of MFS, and allows for a regulator for retail payments is recommended. The use of trust companies and trust accounts is recommended for protection of user funds. \| vi / Public, Constitutional and International Law / LLD Agents Airtime transfer Airtime -based SOV Allocation of loss Allocation of risk Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Aristotle Australian school Auto-subscription Banks Banks Act Bilateral Juristic Act Bottom of Pyramid Branchless Banking BSD Business of banking Cash-In /Cash out Central Bank Claim school Competition Commission Condictiones Consumer protection Consumer Protection Act (CPA) Contract law Convergence CTF Dedicated Banks Bill Delict Regulatory philosophies Deposits Deposit-taking Directives Dodd-Frank Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Electronic money (e-money) Electronic Money Directive (EMD) European Union (EU) FA Mann Fiat Fiat-based SOV FICA Financial inclusion Financial literacy Foley v Hill Hacking ICASA Kenya KYC Legal capacity m-Banking Means of exchange Means of payment MFS MFSP Miller v Race Minors MNO Mobile Banking (m-Banking Mobile Commerce (m-commerce) Mobile Financial Services (MFS) Mobile Financial Service Provider (MFSP) Mobile Financial Services Provide (MFSP) Mobile Network Operator (MNO) Mobile payments Mobile payments (m-Payments) Mobile purse Mobile wallet Money Money Laundering (ML) m-Payments m-pesa National Consumer Commission National Payment System National Payment System Act (NPSA) Non-Banks NPSA Orthodox school Oversight Payment instrument Payments law Pooled accounts Position paper Proportional regulation Prudential Regulation PSD PSPL PSRA Redeemable funds Regulator's dilemma Regulatory capture Remittances (RICA) (South Africa) Security SIM Card SIPS South African Reserve Bank SOV Specie Store of Value (SOV) Stored Value Account (SVA) Subscriber Supervison Systemic risk Telecommunications Transformational banking Trust accounts Unbanked Underserved Underbanked Unit of account United Dominions Trust (UDT) Unjustified enrichment USA Value Added Services (VAS) Wallet WASP WASPA Additive banking Regulatory arbitrage 346.82120680285 Banks and banking, mobile --South Africa

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