Real Time Monitoring Technologies for Pro-Poor Access to Electricity

Existing literature strongly and consistently reports the high upfront cost of energy technology hardware as one of the main demand-side barriers to increased use of modern energy services by the poor. Existing literature also shows that lack of control over monthly bills and unawareness of consumption levels lead to inefficient and sometimes insufficient electricity consumption patterns by the poor. Innovative technologies drawing from existing power metering and mobile payment technologies are now targeting the barriers of affordability and financial sustainability of electricity provision to the poor by allowing fee-for-services and rent-to-buy schemes for the sale of electricity, tariffs related to actual consumption, consumers’ control of their electricity bills and suppliers’ more efficient collection of payments. Real time monitoring (RTM) of on-grid electricity consumption has a long history, with prepaid meters being used in several developed and developing countries. However, new mobile technologies are enabling their use in off-grid systems, including both mini-grids and mobile household systems.DFI

Trade in financial services : mobile banking in Southern Africa

The report will be discussed at a policy discussion workshop that will being together a select group of policy champions from each of the focus countries to discuss appropriate incentives that encourage innovative bank and non-bank led domestic and international m-banking solutions. In this Introduction, the authors summarize the layout of the report, and then touch upon two over-arching issues that need to be taken into account in reading the report. To set the context for m-banking services in the focus countries, chapter two reviews the demand for m-banking services in Southern Africa, particularly in relation to migrant remittances and cross-border payments of trade-related transactions. This analysis is complemented by some international comparisons set out in annex C. On the supply side, chapter three briefly describes the financial and telecommunications landscape in which the development of m-banking is set. The heart of this study is the country diagnostics set out in annex A, which examine, for each country the regulatory issues that are listed in annex B. For ease of reference, the results of the country diagnostics are summarized in chapter four. The country diagnostics include a number of recommendations to overcome the constraints on the development of accessible m-banking in each country and the region, which are developed further in the draft presentation for the workshop in annex D. The main threads of the key recommendations are brought together and summarized in chapter five.Banks&Banking Reform,Emerging Markets,Access to Finance,E-Business,Remittances

Conditions for acceptance and usage of mobile payment procedures

Mobile payment (MP) is crucial for, but not limited to mobile commerce. The key to mobile payment acceptance is in the hands of customers. In this paper we examine the conditions for acceptance and actual usage of MP procedures by the customer. We identify essential conditions which belong to the categories costs, security and convenience. Different preferences lead to an individual set of essential conditions for any single user. We propose a scheme for their representation and comparison and, based on these results, examine the relevance of the different criteria with empirical results. Additionally, we propose an approach to a commensurate condition for the usage of MP procedures based on the theory of informational added values. Finally, applications and constrictions of the results are shown and an outlook on the future of mobile payment is given.

Financing sustainable energy for all: pay-as-you-go vs. traditional solar finance approaches in Kenya

This paper focuses on finance for Solar Home Systems (SHSs) in Kenya and asks to what extent emerging new finance approaches are likely to address the shortcomings of past approaches. Drawing on the STEPS Pathways Approach we adopt a framing that understands finance within a broader socio-technical context as a necessary but not sufficient component of achieving alternative pathways to sustainable energy access. The paper contributes in four ways. Firstly, it presents a comprehensive overview of past and new emerging approaches to financing SHSs in Kenya and their relative strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, it represents one of the first attempts in the literature to analyse the potential of new, real time monitoring technologies and pay as you go finance models to overcome the barriers faced by conventional consumer finance models for off-grid renewable energy technologies (RETs). Thirdly, by applying for the first time we are aware of a socio-technical approach, via the application of Strategic Niche Management (SNM) theory, to analyse the finance of RETs in developing countries, the analysis considers finance in the context of the social practices poor people seek to fulfil via access to the energy services that off-grid RETs provide, and the ways in which people previously paid for these services (e.g. via kerosene for lighting). This also situates the analysis within the understanding of SHSs as a niche that has to compete with the established regime of energy service provision and its attendant social and political institutional support. The paper therefore also contributes to the small but expanding body of literature that seeks to operationalise socio-technical transitions thinking and SNM within a developing country context

Perceived risk and sensitive data on mobile devices

This paper reports on a survey to investigate the behaviour and assumptions of smartphone users, with reference to the security practices adopted by such users. The primary objective was to shed light on the level of information security awareness in smartphone users and determine the extent of sensitive information such users typically hold on these mobile devices

Reliable OSPM schema for secure transaction using mobile agent in micropayment system

The paper introduces a novel offline payment system in mobile commerce using the case study of micro-payments. The present paper is an extension version of our prior study addressing on implication of secure micropayment system deploying process oriented structural design in mobile network. The previous system has broad utilization of SPKI and hash chaining to furnish reliable and secure offline transaction in mobile commerce. However, the current work has attempted to provide much more light weight secure offline payment system in micro-payments by designing a new schema termed as Offline Secure Payment in Mobile Commerce (OSPM). The empirical operation are carried out on three types of transaction process considering maximum scenario of real time offline cases. Therefore, the current idea introduces two new parameters i.e. mobile agent and mobile token that can ensure better security and comparatively less network overhead

Public Service Delivery: Role of Information and Communication Technology in Improving Governance and Development Impact

The focus of this paper is on improving governance through the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the delivery of services to the poor, i.e., improving efficiency, accountability, and transparency, and reducing bribery. A number of papers recognize the potential benefits but they also point out that it has not been easy to harness this potential. This paper presents an analysis of effective case studies from developing countries where the benefits have reached a large number of poor citizens. It also identifies the critical success factors for wide-scale deployment. The paper includes cases on the use of ICTs in the management of delivery of public services in health, education, and provision of subsidized food. Cases on electronic delivery of government services, such as providing certificates and licenses to rural populations, which in turn provide entitlements to the poor for subsidized food, fertilizer, and health services are also included. ICT-enabled provision of information to enhance rural income is also covered

Mobile Payments in the Netherlands: Adoption Bottlenecks and Opportunities, or… Throw Out Your Wallets

Het doel van dit onderzoek is het analyseren van de marktgrootte van mobiel betalen en de bijbehorende omzetbasis, alsmede de invoering van knelpunten, om inzicht te verkrijgen in de introductie en ontwikkeling van mobiele bankservices in Nederland. Het onderzoek beschrijft verscheidene aspecten van mobiel betalen/mobiel bankieren in Nederland. Onderwerpen als implementatie, wetgeving, geschatte businesscase, aanbevolen businessmodel, ontwikkelingsscenario’s, een SWOT - analyse van technische oplossingen, organisatorische knelpunten, een analyse van de redenen van succes en falen en openstaande problemen en uitdagingen komen aan de orde. Het voornaamste doel van het onderzoek is het trachten te beantwoorden van de vraag of er een markt voor mobiel betalen is in Nederland en een analyse geven van waarom mobiele bankservices niet succesvol zijn geweest in Nederland. Bovendien dient gemeld te worden dat de focus van dit verslag lag op microbetalingen, waar over het algemeen betalingen tot €10 onder verstaan worden.The purpose of this research report is to analyse the mobile payment market size and its revenue basis, as well as adoption bottlenecks, in view of establishing the adoption and deployment of mobile banking services in The Netherlands. The research report describes various aspects with regard to mobile payments/mobile banking in The Netherlands. Issues like implementation, regulatory framework, estimated business case, deployment scenario’s, recommended business model, a SWOT analysis of the technical solutions, organisational bottlenecks, an analysis of the reasons for success and failures, and open issues and challenges are addressed. The main aim is to try to answer the question whether there is a market in The Netherlands for mobile banking services, and providing an analysis of why M-banking services have not been so successful in The Netherlands. Furthermore, it needs to be mentioned that the focus of this paper was on micro-payments, which are generally considered to be payments of up to €10