Mobile technology offers an innovative and cost-effective channel for delivering a range of financial services, including mobile payments. In some jurisdictions, mobile payments simply provide a convenient option for facilitating payment transactions. In other jurisdictions, mobile payments are viewed as potentially transformative because they present an opportunity to expand access to financial services. However, as with other innovations, mobile payments raise consumer protection concerns and require robust regulatory mechanisms to address such concerns. Against this backdrop, the book adopts a typology of consumer policy tools which can be used to address the identified consumer concerns. This typology guides the enquiry into the existing consumer protection frameworks applying to mobile payments in selected jurisdictions (Canada, Kenya, and the United Kingdom). The main objective of this endeavour is to identify best practices that national authorities seeking to leverage mobile payments and similar innovations can emulate. This book will be of interest to policymakers, regulators, industry stakeholders, students, and scholars interested in the regulation of innovative financial services, particularly from a consumer protection perspective.

Over the last ten years mobile payment systems have revolutionised banking in some countries in Africa. In Kenya the introduction of M-Pesa, a new financial services model, has transformed the banking and financial services industry. Giving the unbanked majority access to the financial services market it has attracted over 18 million subscribers which is remarkable given that fewer than 4 million people in Kenya have bank accounts. This book addresses the legal and regulatory issues arising out of the introduction of M-Pesa in Kenya and its drive towards financial inclusion. It considers the interaction between regulation and technological innovation with a particular focus on the regulatory tools, institutional arrangements and government decisional processes through the examination as a whole of its regulatory capacity. This is done with a view to understanding the regulatory capacity of Kenya in addressing the vulnerabilities presented by technological innovation in the financial industry for consumers after financial inclusion. It also examines the way that mobile payments have been regulated by criticising the piecemeal approach that the Central Bank of Kenya has taken in addressing the legal and regulatory issues presented by mobile payments. The book argues there are significant gaps in the regulatory regime of mobile banking in Kenya.

"This book will be of interest to policymakers, regulators, industry stakeholders, students and scholars interested in the regulation of innovative financial services, particularly from a consumer protection perspective"--

This book presents a comprehensive view of Internet intermediaries, their economic and social function, development and prospects, benefits and costs, and roles and responsibilities.

This book provides a critical analysis of The European Union’s regulatory framework for mobile payments and bitcoin. Chapters discuss the creation of the EU single market for e-payments and combine legal analysis with comparative case studies in their exploration of the regulatory challenges surrounding e-payments. The contributing authors analyse the key economic and legal issues of the development of bitcoin and mobile payments within the EU framework through a comparative lens. They cover topics ranging from user data and funds protection and the stability of the payment system to the competitiveness of the EU market. Providing a comprehensive and methodological guide to the bitcoin and mobile payments in Europe, this book will prove an illuminating and informative read for academics, students and policy makers with an interest in the impact of innovation on payment systems.