Vodafone, Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks, after two years of piloting mobile phone payment systems in Africa and Asia, now want existing bank regulations eased. They have joined hands to call for new laws to ease money transfers by mobile phone in developing nations.

A recently-released policy report entitled ‘The Transformational Potential of M-Transactions,’ published by Mobile communications services supplier Vodafone, in joint venture with mobile device supplier Nokia and communications services supplier Nokia Siemens Network, has called for a novel regulatory framework to promote financial transactions by cell phones and to make allowance for greater access to financial services in developing nations.

Regulatory measures suggested by this report, which represents Vodafone’s 6th policy paper, will have an affirmative impact on the economic growth of these nations and in addition supply the much-needed financial security to those lacking access to appropriate banking facilities.

The corrective measures suggested to regulators in the report are as follows:

(1) Review and renew deposit taking regulations - to allow large-scale transactions by m-transactions operators.

(2) Allow m-transactions operators to make access to the clearing system.

(3) Abide by ‘know your customer’ and anti-money laundering rules in on the rise markets that have restricted access to formal documentation. This guarantees the customer data given by mobile operators can be utilized in lieu of documents thought compulsory by current regulations.

(4) Permit interoperability of m-transaction schemes to dig out advantages from network effects, at the time of guaranteeing ample room for competition and innovation in the new markets.

Deliverance of m-transactions within these nations will consequently make international payments simpler and get rid of the risk involved in making domestic payments by smoothing the progress of real-time transfers.

Absence of access to banking services is presently compelling consumers to turn to a cash-based economy with little security, a more casual informal labor market and a lower tax-base for governments. The report ends with that financial services are vital for economic growth and that inclusive financial services for the unbanked are crucial for poverty decline.

The previous two years have seen pilot program being operated in Africa and Asia to emphasize the usage of cell phones for making available necessary financial services in developing countries. The report underlines how these services present the first real chance for numerous poor people to clamber on a formal ‘banking ladder.’ The benefits comprise: stumpy threat of crime, time efficiency, and secure savings potential.

However, present banking regulations confine the growth of these m-transaction schemes. Vodafone, Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks are reaching out to regulators in many developing nations with an eye to ensuring that they will neither restrict commercial experimentation nor put a ceiling on these schemes to sub-economical scale.

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