Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion

This conference write-up synthesizes two days of IMTFI researcher presentations through a series of 7 blogposts (titles listed in bold within conference program below) on the IMTFI Blog authored by Liz Losh. View  IMTFI's fourth cohort of awarded research projects 2012. Go to the Supplemental Material tab to download the conference program December 5-6, 2012 4th Annual Conference of IMTFI Researchers Program.

#1 - Longing and Belonging: Money, Mobility, and Practices of the Self (12/5/2012)

Session 1: Money, Mobility, and Practices of the Self- “Mobile Kin and Mobile Money: The Anthropology of International Remittances in Kenya” (Kenya) by Sibel Kusimba; “Generating, Storing and Exchanging Value: Comparing Financial Practices in Mexican and Indian Rural Communities” (Mexico and India) by Magdalena Villareal & Isabelle Guerin; “Mobiles, Migrants and Money: A Study of Mobility at the Haitian-Dominican Republic Border” (Haiti & Dominican Republic) by Heather Horst & Erin Taylor

#2 - The Stuff of Life: Financial and Technological Literacies(12/5/2012)

Session 2: Shifting Financial and Technological Literacies - “Material Cultures of Financial Literacy among Rural and Urban Poor in Orissa, India” by Katherine Martineau, Pradeep Baisakh, & Nishita Trisal; “The Impact of Pure Mobile Microfinancing on the Poor” (Nairobi, Kenya) by Tonny Omwansa & Timothy Mwololo; “Mobile Money Information System Architecture for Open Air Market” (Ethiopia) by Mesfin  Woldmariam

#3 - Rough Going: Mobile Money's Agency in Everyday Behavior & Practices(12/5/2012)

Session 3: Mobile Money’s Agency in Everyday Behavior & Practices- “Evolving Participatory Relationships for Uplifting Urban Poor Rickshaw Pullers: Next Step Forward” (India) Mani Nandhi & Deepti Kc; “Making Sense of Mobile Money in Urban Ghana: Personal, Business, Social and Financial Inclusion Prospects” (Ghana) by Vivian Dzokoto & Elizabeth Appiah; “Delivering Cash Grants to Indigenous Peoples Through ATM and GCASH Remit: Boon or Bane? The Case of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Conditional Cash Transfer Program in the Philippines ” by Anatoly Gusto & Emily Roque

#4 - Don't Take the Money and Run: Architectures of Mobile Money (12/6/2012)

Session 4: Architectures of Mobile Money: Constructing, Combining and Converting Platforms- “A Study in Tracking the Shift from Savings to Remittance on the Mobile Backbone: Findings from EKO, India” by Ishita Ghosh & Kartikeya Bajpai; “A Work Practice Approach to Understanding Actors in Agricultural Markets: Revisiting the Fishermen of Kerala, India” by Jenna Burrell, Janaki Srinivasan & Richa Kumar; “' E-SUSU' Operation: Can Mobile Money Revolutionize an Ancient Saving System among Indigenous West Africans” (Ghana) by Eric Osei-Assibey

#5 - The Keys to Those Locked Out: Inclusion and Exclusion in Mobile Money Systems(12/8/2012)

Session 5: Inclusion and Exclusion in Mobile Money Systems - “The Use of Mobile Money Services and Platforms Among the Visually Impaired in Kenya: Any Impact on Poverty Reduction?” by Ndunge Kiiti & Jane Mutinda; “A Study on Association of Social Capital with Microfinance and Local Saving Programs Among the Muslim Poor in Andhra Pradesh, India” by Rosina Nasir; “Gender Empowerment and Access to Financial Services in Machakos County, Eastern Kenya” by Simiyu Wandibba, Stevie Nangendo & Benson Mulemi

#6 - Mapping the Terrain: Designing New Mobile Money Models for Financial Inclusion (12/19/2012)

Session 6: Designing New MM Models for Financial Inclusion- “Banking the Poor through Mobile Telephony: Understanding the Challenges for Expanding Mobile-Based Financial Services in Latin America” by Roxana Barrantes & Judith Mariscal; “Impact Research of Farmers' Access to ICT-based Decision Software on Household Savings Generation and Credit Loan Payments” (Philippines) by Allerine Isles; “Mobile Payment Adoption in Brazil: Investigation of a Pilot Implementation” by Eduardo Diniz, Joao Porto de Albuquerque, and Adrian Kemmer Cernev

#7 - Gaming the System: Institutional Cultures and Regulatory Framings(1/11/2013)

Session 7: Institutional Cultures and Regulatory Framings: Limit Cases in MM Adoption and Uptake - “Resistance to e-Money in Poor Remittances Receivers' Families, Case in Lombok Island, Indonesia” by Catur Sugiyanto, Tiar Shantiuli & Zuhrohtun Zuhrohtun; “Betting on Chance in Colombia: How Game Operator Networks Succeed in Providing Financial Services to the Poor While Other Networks Stay Behind” by Ana Echeverry, Anny Chou & Coppelia Herran; “Composing Development? Biometrics, Smart Cards and Financial Inclusion in South Africa's Social Protection Initiative” (South Africa) by Kevin Donovan