Activities

Major Donors

Newsletter Subscription

Stay up to date with Microfinance Pasifika events by subscribing to our newsletter

 

PFIP: Prospects of Mobile Money in the Pacific

On Tuesday December 1st, The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) in coordination with Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) hosted an information exchange focused on mobile money at the Heritage Hotel in Honiara.  Mobile money is broad term that refers to a range of financial services that can be offered across the mobile phone. The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme recently launched a report titled, “Building a mobile money distribution network in Papua New Guinea” and around the Pacific different project developers are testing both hardware and software to support mobile money.   With the entrance of new players in the telecom sector, the price of airtime has decreased by as much as 60% in Pacific nations, coverage has greatly improved, and the amount of users has grown tremendously.  Currently, Our Telekom is erecting cell phone towers around Solomon Islands, and by the end of the year, there may be another telecom provider with a license to operate in country.
 
The purpose of this informal information exchange was to gather those that have the potential to catalyze the development of mobile money in Solomon Islands.  CBSI Governor Denton Rarawa opened the event with a speech on the importance of financial inclusion in Solomon Islands, and Tillman Bruett, PFIP Project Advisor, then gave the presentation on mobile money.  The event was attended by representatives from CBSI, commercial banks, donor agencies, and civil society organizations.
 
The PFIP team is committed to doing a total of five information exchanges before September 2010 in Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. These exchanges begin with a short presentation on a topic of interest followed by some informal discussion on this topic as well as the promotion of financial inclusion in general with counterparts from financial institutions, microfinance institutions, donor organizations, the central bank and other professionals.