Is Mobile Money Part of Money? Understanding the Trends and Measurement

IMF Working Papers, July 1, 2021

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Canonical URL: Is Mobile Money Part of Money? Understanding the Trends and Measurement

Authors: Kazuko Shirono, Esha Chhabra, Bidisha Das, Yingjie Fan, Hector Carcel Villanova
Published: July 1, 2021
Series: IMF Working Papers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513587851.001

The paper reviews mobile money trends using mobile money data from the Financial Access Survey (FAS).
It examines the statistical treatment of mobile money under the IMF’s Monetary and Financial Statistics (MFS) framework.
MFS guidance is described as straightforward in most cases because many jurisdictions have adopted regulations ensuring mobile money is captured in the banking system and thus in the calculation of broad money.
Where mobile network operators (MNOs) act as niche financial intermediaries outside the banking regulatory perimeter and are allowed to invest customer funds in sovereign securities and other permitted assets, mobile money liabilities may remain outside the banking system and monetary statistics.
In those cases, information on mobile money liabilities needs to be collected directly from MNOs to account for mobile money as part of broad money.

Rapid uptake of mobile money in recent years has generated new data needs and growing interest in understanding its impact on broad money.
Many jurisdictions have regulatory frameworks that result in mobile money being captured in the banking system and monetary aggregates.
A distinct subset of cases exists where MNOs operate outside the banking regulatory perimeter, retain customer funds, and invest those funds in sovereign securities and other permitted assets; in such cases mobile money liabilities can be outside monetary statistics.

MFS guidance generally ensures mobile money is included in broad money when regulations channel mobile money through the banking system.
When MNOs function as niche financial intermediaries outside bank regulation, MFS requires direct collection of mobile money liabilities from MNOs to include them in broad money calculations.

Where mobile money is outside the banking system, statistical authorities should collect information on mobile money liabilities directly from MNOs.
Regulatory frameworks that bring mobile money into the banking system simplify statistical treatment and inclusion in broad money.
Attention to the legal and institutional arrangements governing MNOs is necessary to determine whether mobile money should be treated as part of monetary aggregates.