Professional Documents
Culture Documents
When I speak at conferences or with people interested in the use of mobile phones for
financial service delivery, I am often asked what is the difference between e-money, mobile
money, mobile banking, and a range of other terms that are often used wily-nily in reference
to this emerging business opportunity. It is a good question. People are confused. And
rightfully so. There are no universally accepted definitions. While this lack of uniformity may
not be important much of the time, it does become critical at the regulatory level as well as
when potential players are trying to have a meaningful conversation with each other.
E-Money
m-commerce - buying stuff from websites and apps with your phone (e.g. via
PayPal)
mobile payments - buying stuff in stores with your phone (e.g. via Apple Pay)
mobile banking - interacting with a financial institution via your phone (e.g.
banking with Simple)
mobile point of sale - taking in-store payments when you are the merchant
(e.g. using Square), and
mobile money - sending and receiving payments with your phone (e.g. by M-
Pesa or Venmo)