State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money - Decade Edition: 2006 - 2016

With the State of the Industry Report on Mobile Financial Services now in its sixth year, this special 2016 edition is an opportunity to reflect on the incredible progress made over the last decade. While mobile money has been around for more than 10 years, the 2007 launch of M-Pesa in Kenya first demonstrated the potential of mobile technology to transform access to financial services in emerging markets. The following wave of investment and innovation has overturned traditional ideas about financial services and has had a profound effect on the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

This special edition charts the story of mobile money over the last decade through four sections:

1. A decade of progress: takes a look back at the emergence of mobile money and the rapid advancement of financial inclusion;
2. Mobile money industry lessons: reviews mobile money fundamentals, from the business case to enabling regulation and interoperability;
3. Mobile money impact: reflects on how mobile money has impacted people’s lives, as well as the broader economic benefits mobile money has unlocked;
4. Looking ahead: Forces shaping the future of the industry: closes with an examination of emerging trends that promise to take mobile money to new heights over the next 10 years.