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Global telecom leaders call for financial inclusion through mobile phone

ITU Telecom World comes to a close

Kowsher Jahan Khaled, from Bangkok
AN international conference of global telecom leaders ended in Bangkok on Friday with a call to bridge the digital divide and deepen financial inclusion in the emerging and least-developed economies through mobile phones.
Speakers at the ITU Telecom World 2013 stressed putting proper regulations in place to bring the unbanked population of the world under formal banking activities.
They' called upon governments, regulators and stakeholders to intervene and collaborate with each other to streamline mobile phone-based financial services and ensure security of such transactions.
The four-day event at Impact Exhibition and Convention Centre featured a world-class forum of interactive debate, a lively showfloor displaying products, technologies and investment opportunities from around the world and a range of networking opportunities.
Stakeholders from the public and private sectors, including ministers, regulators, industry' CEOs from across the entire ICT ecosystem, consultants and academics took part in the conference.
One of the key discussions was on "the many faces of mobile financial services", especially in Asian and African countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nigeria, where the markets are more complicated and most people are
unbanked.
By 2020, access to mobile financial sendees could increase gross domestic product by 2 percent in Bangladesh, 3 percent in Pakistan and 5 percent in India, said Jon Eddy Abdullah, chief executive officer of Dtac, Telenor's mobile venture in Thailand.
Mobile financial sendees are now "poised for explosive growth". Telenor, which has around 56 percent share in Bangladesh's leading mobile operator Grameenphone, considers mobile financial sendees a "major" business opportunity, according to Abdullah, who spoke at the session on mobile-based financial sendees.
Financial inclusion represents a stepping-stone towards other progresses, bringing with it access to new technologies and services, he said. "Mobile banking provides a quick, accurate and transparent process and helps eliminate black economy,"he added.
By using the existing infrastructure and distribution network, the telecom companies can offer affordable and sustainable solutions to customers with small funds, Abdullah said.
However, the telecom and financial sendees analysts suggested mobile-based financial sendees should not be overregulated so that the unbanked population of the world—now around 2.5 billion—can easily' join formal banking activities.
John lire, associate professor and
director at Telecommunications Research Project of University of Hong Kong, said a new regulator can emerge for the mobile-based financial sendees as the sector involves multiple regulators such as telecom, banking and financial services.
However, Abdullah, the Dtac CEO, ruled out the idea of a new regulator for such services, as the gap between the stakeholders can be minimised through discussions.
Lire said it is not possible for banks to reach all the unbanked people as it involves huge costs. "So, the role of technology, including mobile phone, becomes all that important".
Since the problems faced by the mobile banking sendee providers varies across countries, governments and regulators should keep in mind their local contexts while formulating regulations for the sector, he added.
Prashant Gokarn, chief strategy and planning officer of Indosat in Indonesia, said mobile banking provides a "unique" platform for micro-finance and micro-insurance to flourish.
There is a fine line between good regulation and over-regulation and the stakeholders "will have to understand that".
Eugene Juwah, executive vice chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission, also spoke at the session moderated by Marko Jagodic Jr, director (sendee network) of Telekom Slovenia.