This paper follows a quasi-experimental research design to assess the impact of the electronic payment system of Mexico's Oportunidades programme. The switch from cash payments to electronic payments delivered via a bank account is found to have implications in terms of reallocation between...

This paper follows a quasi-experimental research design to assess the impact of the electronic payment system of Mexico's Oportunidades programme. The switch from cash payments to electronic payments delivered via a bank account is found to have implications in terms of reallocation between...

The diffusion of mobile money (also mobile payments) has so far been uneven by country. While in Kenya upwards of 50 percent of the population uses mobile payments platforms, in Mexico the proportion is barely above 2 percent. Drawing on interviews and secondary sources, this paper finds that...

Mobile phone-based financial services and other new technologies may hold the key to converting more of Mexico's “unbanked” residents, most of whom have traditionally operated outside the formal economy. Regulatory oversight of the new services is slowly evolving