In a paper that also synthesises a lot of his previous work, Chipchase writes about some of the social and cultural issues related to mobile money services.
“Simply being able to prove who you are can present a problem particularly for migrant workers. In many factory and manual labouring jobs the employer takes the worker’s identity card as a form of collateral to be returned at the end of the contract and/or when a replacement is found. Without an identity card it can be difficult to sign up for a pre-paid mobile phone account – just how difficult varies from market to market, and the extent to which know your customer (KYC) requirements are enforced or enforceable. Accessing regular banking branches to withdraw or deposit money can also be problematic without an identity card since the task requires prior interaction with the employer. In cultures with a high level of graft the police are more likely to use physical ownership of an identity card as a leverage point to exhort fines/bribes – as a risk-aversion strategy culture laminated facsimiles are likely to be carried. In contexts where identity information is frequently asked for some people carry multiple photocopies. In these environments migrants make easier pickings and can fall under suspicion with the police for the simple reason that they are not local. For many migrants obtaining a locally recognised identity card, either through formal or illegal means is a job in itself.”
Link: Mobile Phone Practices & The Design of Mobile Money Services for Emerging Markets (slideshare.net)
