Regulation Drives Mobile Money Adoption

Mobile money lets people send and receive funds over USSD/SMS without banks or internet. Uptake differs sharply across African countries with similar phone access: places that let telecoms issue e‑money and build agent networks (e.g., Ghana, Uganda) see majority adoption, while bank‑centric regimes (e.g., Nigeria, Mauritius) lag. Rules that favor telco‑led e‑money unlock inclusion; protection of banks suppresses it. — It reframes financial inclusion as a regulatory design problem—who is allowed to issue and distribute money—rather than a pure technology or poverty problem.