Mobile Money II
Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
Columbia Business School
Uris Hall TBD
In April 2010 CITI held its first conference on “Mobile Money”, focusing on the macroeconomic aspects. Since then, developments have accelerated. Around the world, the rapid spread of mobile phones is being followed by their use as a tool for financial transactions. The cell phone serves as a bank account, debit card, and money creator. Developing countries lack effective financial infrastructure. The positive economic impact of the mobile telecommunications infrastructure has been demonstrated, as has been the ability of microfinance to stimulate economic activity. Now a hybrid of the technologies has begun to emerge, enabling a mobile financial system. A notable example is Kenya where the M-PESA system (‘m-money’ in Swahili) has transferred in its short history over $5.4 billion by 12 million customers. This conference addresses some of the following issues:
- What are the economics of mobile money?
- What policy issues does it raise?
- Is m-money a threat to the traditional banking system?
- How might it be regulated?
- Security issues
- Consumer protection perspectives
- Investor perspectives
- Indicators for demand
- M-money and m-health
- What are consumer and privacy protection issues?
- Who will control the system—banks or telecom operators?
- What are the emerging trends?
Mobile Money II Agenda 9:00 am – Welcome & Introduction
- Eli Noam, Director, CITI, Columbia Business School
9:15 am – What are the Issues/Needs?
- Mobile-money in Developing Countries, Ignacio Mas, Financial Services for the Poor at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation*
9:45am – Overview
- Macroeconomic Theory and Mobile Money, William Jack, Georgetown University
- Investor’s View of Mobile Money, Andi Dervishi, International Financial Corporation
- Moderator: Bill Hoffman, World Economic Forum*
· The Enigma of Mobile Money Systems, Judith Mariscal & Ernesto M. Flores-Roux
11:15am – Coffee break 11:30am – Security Issues
- Consumer Protection? Philip Keitel, Federal Reserve of Philadelphia
- How Secure is Mobile-Money? The Case of M-Pesa, Nicholas Norman, Consult Hyperion (United Kingdom)
- Moderator: Mohammed Alotaibi, Carnegie Mellon University
· Mobile Money & Payments Issues, Leon Perlman, Wireless Application Service Providers' Association (South Africa) & Cellular Online
12:30 pm – Lunch
- Empowering the Poor: A Central Banker’s View, Stephen Nduati*, Central Bank of Kenya
2:00pm – Additional Financial Issues
· Mobile Payments and Mobile Money - Is it about the Mobiles or about Payments?, Jan Markendahl*
- Implications of M-money, Thaer Sabri, Electronic Money Association (United Kingdom)
- Anthropology of Money, Bill Maruer, University of California Irvine
- Moderator: Neal Stolleman, United States Treasury
3:00pm – Coffee Break 3:15pm – Mobile-money for Developing Countries
· Indicators of Demand for Mobile-money, TBA
- mHealth & Mobile Money: A Case Study, Menekse Gencer, Director/Founder of mPay Connect
- Moderator: Avin Arumugam, Columbia Business School & University of California – Berkeley
4:00pm – Summary Comments
- James Alleman, Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado – Boulder
4:15pm – Reception * To be confirmed Registration: To register for the event, http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/citi/events/mobilemoney2 , or for more information, please email Jason Buckweitz, at jab2322@columbia.edu. Cost: $100 business firms; non-profits/government $20. Students free without lunch (with lunch $10)
Conference Organized by James Alleman, Mohammed Alotaibi, Avin Arumugam, Bill Hoffman, Eli Noam, Leon Perlman, and the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
