Page 67 - ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services – Technology, innovation and competition

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

Still, this is not to suggest that there are not suitable organisations already established within DFS target
markets with the ability to act within the monolithic identity model. Table 1 provides a comparison between
Facebook and China Mobile, illustrating the MNO’s capacity to operate in a similar role. Rather than highlighting
synergies between the business models of the two organisations, Table 1 demonstrates the MNO’s capacity
to collect information from social interactions (over GSM networks). This alludes to a scenario where China
Mobile could establish a social data profile for low income groups with no Internet access.

An added benefit of a mobile network provider operating within the monolithic role is that consumer privacy
rights may be better protected. Whereas Facebook open APIs provide third parties with a relatively sophisticated
means of interrogating consumer data, the proprietary systems of an MNO are likely to be less accessible.

In addition, there are market examples to support the use of GSM transactional data in the support of DFS.
JUMO, the microfinance unit of Cape Town-based AFB Pty. Ltd., analyse an individual’s calling records, airtime
purchase, and other mobile data to determine credit scoring for loans .
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However, perhaps the most valuable application to DFS can be found in a monolithic IDP’s capacity to alleviate
some of the friction involved in customer registration procedures: It is expected that an entity operating within
the monolithic role will have acquired a substantial user base supported by substantial amounts of information
that could be leveraged for identity services. The difference is in contrast to other models where identity
assertion may present a barrier to adoption, users of social media platforms, and GSM networks proactively,
and iteratively repeat the process of establishing identification attributes allowing the platform to develop an
increasingly valuable cache of personal information.

Still there is an argument to suggest that though the analysis of an individual’s social graph can enable a strong
means of verification, the LoA provided by models which rely on self-assertion (of identity during the initial
registration) is questionable.

The 12-digit unique identity number of Aadhaar card

32 http:// www. bloomberg. com/ news/ articles/ 2015- 09- 23/ phone- stats- unlock- a- million- loans- each- month- for- african- lender

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