Page 191 - The Digital Financial Services (DFS) Ecosystem

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Ecosystem

Figure 5 – e-Money Merchant Acceptance Models

8.3.1.1 Model One: In-House Model

In-house merchant acceptance deployments are characterized by MMOs performing all activities across the
value chain and are typically closed loop deployments. This model is observed where the MMO is a dominant
market player or where the deployment is a response to unique market circumstance. Safaricom had significant
market dominance before the debut of its eMoney wallet, M-PESA and was able to draw significant funding
from DFID to support its inception and piloting phase. Other in-house approaches include Telesom, the only
telecommunications provider in Somaliland at the time it launched its eMoney scheme ZAAD, responding
to the countries hyperinflationary crisis. ZAAD may be considered an outlier, because in some ways it was a
response to unique market circumstances. From another perspective, it was a company dedicated to improving
its country’s well-being and growing its own infrastructure, while making itself indispensable by filling the void
of a traditional banking sector. 7

7 Camner, G., Pulver, C., & Sjöblom, E. (2009). What makes a successful eMoney implementation? Learnings from M-PESA in Kenya
and Tanzania. London: GMSA, available at: www. gsmworld. com/our-work/mobile_planet/mobile_money_for_the_unbanked/,
accessed. ; Pénicaud, C., & McGrath, F. (2013). Innovative Inclusion: How Telesom ZAAD Brought eMoney to Somaliland. GSMA
eMoney for the Unbanked blog. http:// www. gsma. com/ mobilefordevelopment/ wp- content/ uploads/ 2013/ 07/ Telesom-
Somaliland. pdf

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