Page 133 - ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services – Technology, innovation and competition

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Technology, Innovation and Competition

5 DFS and phone features

DFS platform vendors and SPs cater towards the access mechanism characteristic of their markets. Thus DFS
customers in the developed world - who typically use 3G smartphones - access DFS using mobile payment and
banking apps, whilst in the developing world, users - who typically use basic/feature phones - access DFS via
narrowband, primarily text-based user interface access mechanisms such as USSD, STK, and WAP.

For the most part, feature phones can run STK ‘applications’ that provide secure access to DFS platforms such
as m-Pesa in Kenya. Some but not all can run Java applications through the J2ME software environment.
22
21
Poor user interfaces on basic and feature phones using USSD and STK may prolong the use of OTC DFS activities
and stunt DFS account usage.
There are some technical limitations with entry-level smartphones, with poor display quality and durability,
some without 3G/4G, and poor battery life. A further complicating factor is that in many markets, 3G and
higher mobile data coverage is limited to mostly urban areas and along national roads, which could affect user
experience, especially with DFS apps features that require higher bandwidth.

A major issue is that because of design changes across the various Android versions, not all DFS apps will be
usable across all Android versions. This could mean that the latest version of a DFS app may not work on an older
Android phone version. The size of the newest DFS apps also touch the upper limit of available storage space
23
on lower-end smartphone devices. Of concern too is the large and growing market of counterfeit and illegal
24
phones, many of which are being tracked and then barred from mobile network access by telecommunications
regulators and MNOs.
25

21 J2ME (Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition) is a technology developed by Oracle.
22 This is still not ubiquitous since not all chipsets support J2ME
23 As of December 2016, Android was at version 7.1. Specifically, smartphones using the older Android version 2.3 OS will soon
no longer be supported by many app makers. See Android Developers (2016) Backwards Compatibility, available at: https://
developer. android. com/ design/ patterns/ compatibility. html
24 ibid
25 As an example, the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority in June 2016 blocked 1.82 million counterfeit phones. For a
comprehensive overview, see Perlman (2016) ibid.

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