The path forward can seem daunting, especially if financial institutions feel responsible for developing bank-led mobile account solutions. However, the challenge of adoption falls on the shoulders of many. Individuals and groups can take small, actionable steps to move Haiti forward for the benefit of all. A summary of recommendations can be found below. Some are general, applying to the entire sector, and some apply to the specific circumstances of banks, credit unions, and MFIs.
Recommendation 1: Include ICT Strengthening in Short-Term Strategies
Financial institutions should be investing in core systems that are capable of integration. Organizations that strengthen their infrastructure and networks in the short-term will be more competitive once interoperability is an option, because they will have laid the foundation that prepares them for the solutions that are coming. Financial institutions should seek better dedicated-network connections and research mobile sector partners with complementary strengths.
Recommendation 2: Develop Better Mobile Loan Solutions
Financial institutions should introduce accounts that would allow mobile loans and loan
disbursement. Loan programs are in high demand in Haiti, not only in urban areas, where many options already exist, but especially in remote regions of the country, where access to financial services is more difficult. By working together, banks, credit unions, and MFIs could help to serve the underserved and begin to address financial inclusion in a new way while profiting from the interest.
Recommendation 3: Expand Merchant Services
Regulated financial institutions should develop formal business merchant accounts to serve a different type of clientele: an expanding mobile money ecosystem will be stronger with new clients and new use cases. People need ways to use the cash they store electronically. Without a strong merchant network there may never be mass adoption of a cashless mobile model. Mobile is better than the other electronic options currently available in the market. A better mobile solution for merchants would mean more transactions and more stable consumer
perceptions of mobile money overall. A more dependable and affordable mobile solution could lead to more business clients and new revenue streams.
Recommendation 4: Build a Product and Processes Suitable to the Financial Institution’s Needs
Financial institutions should not expect an out-of-the-box solution. Technology providers are experts in technology not banking, and financial institutions cannot depend 100 percent on product developers. They need to be involved in the design and implementation of a service offering that meets their needs and those of their clients. Financial institutions must be active collaborators in identifying client needs, product gaps, and operational inefficiencies that can be improved through mobile solutions.
There are many paper-based procedures in banks today that will benefit from automation and electronic processing, once e-governance is approved, but the financial institution’s involvement
cannot stop with licensing and monitoring. A top-down approach that includes proactive training for employees will ensure that all employees are engaged and supportive of the product they are expected to sell.
Products should be adapted to better serve the institutions’ operational needs, with special time devoted to defining reporting requirements and contingency plans, and manual processes
minimized and work efforts automated whenever possible. The operational aspects of supporting mobile accounts day to day should be separate from the product development process. If too many processes are manual, simplify the product or engineer an automated solution. The processes need to be scalable.
Recommendation 5: Prepare a Dedicated Team
When it is time to launch a mobile product, make sure there is a dedicated team at the financial institution and in its branches to provide risk oversight, compliance monitoring, technical
support, and financial support. Mobile money products have new operations and procedures, and settlement and reconciliation will still require a team of account managers, with the need to add personnel as transaction volume increases. Redundancy and cross-training are also important, even when the program is small, because they prepare the business to scale up.
Recommendation 6: Include Interoperable Models in Long-Term Strategies
Well-funded institutions are in a strong position to be first to market with new products and solutions, and they can afford to wait for success. They can also afford low transaction volumes and high operational costs early on, as they await mass adoption. With a focus on high-volume transactions, eventually costs can be reduced. As the ecosystem strengthens and clients begin to trust the services, more mobile technologies can be introduced. This creates a scenario where physically entering the financial institution becomes the exception rather than the norm. The focus should be on long-term strategies for building an interoperable network model. Investment planning should begin to determine the correct model for the network and plan shorter-term goals to increase technological literacy, enhance infrastructure, and stabilize
Internet connections. Once invested, financial institutions need to be “all-in” — prepared to bear 50 percent of the responsibility for investments, marketing, education, and execution to ensure the product’s success.
Recommendation 7: Form the Right Kinds of Partnerships
Selecting the right partners requires a thorough understanding of each partner’s mission and responsibilities. It is important to build trust between the partners to ensure that all are invested in the same long-term vision. The fact that not all partners will be immediately profitable will require support to ensure the survival and ultimate success of any product.
Banks should seek larger corporations as strong partners to support payroll services into mobile accounts and seek large formal businesses to become cash-out locations. New partnerships among credit unions should be encouraged to help strengthen the network as a whole. MFIs should investigate international loan sponsorship programs that link loans in Haiti with remittances from abroad that serve as payment or collateral for local loans.
Partnerships between MFIs, credit unions, and banks will foster stronger interoperability. Joint ventures will help lessen the financial burden on any one financial institution and increase the level of expertise and knowledge sharing to help to solve problems.
Recommendation 8: Advocate for Regulatory Equality
If the Central Bank is serious about realizing interoperable mobile banking in an effort to provide financial inclusion, then inclusion must begin inside the financial sector. MFIs can play an
important role in expanding access to mobile money products and services, given their wide reach, especially among low-income clients. However, current regulatory prohibitions on directly offering mobile solutions complicate their ability to serve the market effectively.
Financial institutions must work together to address and voice their needs in the mobile solutions market. Speak out, advocate, and lobby as a unified entity for the needs of the mobile financial sector.