... NETWORKS‘Scheduled’ paymentsREMOTE B2 C/C 2B INSTITUTIONAL PAYMENTSSalaries, bill pay, G2P,online/e-commerceIN-STORE MERCHANT PAYMENTSFor goods & services‘JUST PAYMENTS’PUSHING & PULLING MONEY ... M PESA’sFutureEvolutionTheexperienceof M PESAdemonstrateshowpowerfulapaymentnetworkthatoffersconvenienceatanaffordablecostcanbeonceacriticalmassofcustomersisreached.Italsoshowsthatachievingcriticalmassrequiresbothaservicedesignthatremovesasmanyadoptionbarriersaspossibleandsignificantinvestmentinmarketing,branding,andagentnetworkmanagement.TheKenyanexperiencealsosuggeststhatseveralcountry‐levelenvironmentalfactorsneedtoaligntosetthesceneforasuccessfulmobilemoneydevelopment,includingthelabormarketprofile(demandforremittancesgeneratedbyrural‐urbanmigration),thequalityofavailablefinancialservices,supportfromthebankingregulator,andthestructureofthemobilecommunicationsmarket(dominantmobileoperatorandlowairtimecommissions).Yet,while M PESAhasbeensuccessfulbeyondwhatanyonecouldhaveimaginedatitslaunch,themodelstillhassubstantialroomtodevelopfurther.Ourwishlistfor M PESAisthree‐fold:(i)themainstreamingof M PESA’sregulatorytreatment;(ii)pricingthatopensupamuchlargermarketofmicro‐transactions;and(iii)buildingofamuchmorerobustecosystemaround M PESAthatenablescustomerstoaccessabroaderrangeoffinancial ... nontwokeyfronts:(i)Safaricommadesignificantup‐frontinvestmentsinbuildingastrongservicebrandfor M PESA;and(ii)Safaricomeffectivelyleverageditsextensivenetworkofairtimeresellerstobuildareliable,consistentretailnetworkthatservedcustomers’liquidityneeds.AggressiveUpFrontInvestmentinPromotingthe M PESABrandFromthebeginning,Safaricomsoughttofostercustomertrustinthenewpay mentmechanismandreliedonexistingcustomerstobetheprimemechanis m todrawinnewcustomers.ThiswasallthemoredifficultbecauseSafaricomwasintroducingnotonlyanewproduct,butanentirelynewproductcategorytoamarketthathadlittleexperiencewithformalfinancialservices.Theinternallaunchtargetfor M PESAwasabout1millioncustomerswithin...