Incentive and coordination issues in the mobile banking industry of Pakistan

Abstract

With the introduction of Branch less Banking regulations in 2008 by the State Bank of Pakistan a new opportunity for banks and telecoms was created to service the needs of the 85% of Pakistanis who lacked any formal or informal access to Financial Services. The first mover in this space was easypaisa, formed when a telecom company bought a microfinance bank. Its enormous success in the Utility Bill Payments and Domestic Remittances space attracted several other players to rush into the market with their own business models. These models varied in their choice of collaboration, from telecoms buying the bank outright to go-alone solutions by some banks. This thesis explores the coordination and incentive issues that may arise from the different types of collaborations between Telecoms and Banks to address this opportunity. The study also looks at the distribution channels for these firms and identifies some of the challenges the design of channels may result in. The thesis ends by making some recommendations on how these frictions and tensions may be minimized.