Ghana’s Nascent Mobile Payment System (a Research Into the Problems with Patronage and Operability)
UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES FACULTY OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
GHANA’S NASCENT MOBILE PAYMENT SYSTEM (A RESEARCH INTO THE PROBLEMS WITH PATRONAGE AND OPERABILITY)
PROJECT PROPOSAL BY: ALIRAH MICHAEL ADALIWEI (FAS/1473/07)
SUPERVISOR: MR DAVID S. LAAR (MSc. Manchester)
ABSRACT In the early 1990s, the use of mobile phones generated a system of payment which could enable users of mobile devices effect payments for their transactions. This system- the Mobile Payment System (MPS) - has given rise to a lot of innovations over the years.
A Mobile Payment System is a type of payment transaction processing within an electronic procedure in the course of which (at least) the payer employs mobile communication techniques in conjunction with mobile devices to initiate, authorize or realize payments made for physical or digital goods or services. Payments are either effected by mobile phones or near field communication devices with mobile network operators, banks and businesses as the major players in the system.
MPS began operating in Ghana in 2006 with eTranzact, txtnpay, MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money and Tigo Cash. Despite its main advantage which imperatively is convenience, a very small fraction of the numerous mobile phone users in the nation have extensively accepted the system. Beyond this and additional advantages the system is facing a lot of challenges which have made it very difficult for it to be widely functional in the system and utilized by the masses.
The purpose of this project is to combine various research methods in the form of interviews, secondary data collection, observations and case studies to investigate the challenges that militate against the full acceptance and functionality of MPS in Ghana and as a result propose new strategies as relevant solutions that can be adopted to address these problems and transform MPS in the Ghanaian market.
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GHANA’S NASCENT MOBILE PAYMENT SYSTEM (A RESEARCH INTO THE PROBLEMS WITH PATRONAGE AND OPERABILITY)
PROJECT PROPOSAL BY: ALIRAH MICHAEL ADALIWEI (FAS/1473/07)
SUPERVISOR: MR DAVID S. LAAR (MSc. Manchester)
ABSRACT In the early 1990s, the use of mobile phones generated a system of payment which could enable users of mobile devices effect payments for their transactions. This system- the Mobile Payment System (MPS) - has given rise to a lot of innovations over the years.
A Mobile Payment System is a type of payment transaction processing within an electronic procedure in the course of which (at least) the payer employs mobile communication techniques in conjunction with mobile devices to initiate, authorize or realize payments made for physical or digital goods or services. Payments are either effected by mobile phones or near field communication devices with mobile network operators, banks and businesses as the major players in the system.
MPS began operating in Ghana in 2006 with eTranzact, txtnpay, MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money and Tigo Cash. Despite its main advantage which imperatively is convenience, a very small fraction of the numerous mobile phone users in the nation have extensively accepted the system. Beyond this and additional advantages the system is facing a lot of challenges which have made it very difficult for it to be widely functional in the system and utilized by the masses.
The purpose of this project is to combine various research methods in the form of interviews, secondary data collection, observations and case studies to investigate the challenges that militate against the full acceptance and functionality of MPS in Ghana and as a result propose new strategies as relevant solutions that can be adopted to address these problems and transform MPS in the Ghanaian market.
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References: 1. M.S Sridhar, ISRO (2008), Introduction to Research Methodology 2. Tomi Dahlberg, Anssi Öörni (2010), Understanding Changes in Consumer Payment Habits - Do Mobile Payments Attract Consumers?, Helsinki School of Economics 3. LI Xi, HU Han-ping (2007), A Secure Mobile Payment System, Institute of Pattern Recognition and Artificial Intelligence, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China 4. Jan Ondrus, Yves Pigneur (2005), A Disruptive Analysis in the Mobile Payment Market 5. Y.A. Au & R.J. Kauffman, (2007), The economics of mobile payments: Understanding stakeholder issues for an emerging financial technology application, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2006.12.004 6. Pousttchi, Key (2004), An Analysis of the Mobile Payment Problem in Europe, University of Augsburg 7. www.blogger.com Mobile Banking 8. www.wikipedia.com Mobile Payment 9. www.mobiledia.com Mobile Finance Thrives in Africa 16 | P a g e GHANA’S NASCENT MOBILE PAYMENT SYSTEM (A RESEARCH INTO PROBLEMS WITH PATRONAGE AND OPERABILILTY) For full project details and report Contact Michael Alirah Adaliwei Tel: +233266622548 Email: michaelalirah@aol.com Blogs: ecademiconline.com, OPPapers.com, Scribd.com Follow Michael Alirah on facebook, twitter.com, myspace.com, linkedin.com 17 | P a g e GHANA’S NASCENT MOBILE PAYMENT SYSTEM (A RESEARCH INTO PROBLEMS WITH PATRONAGE AND OPERABILILTY)