16 January 2010: Officials from Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) visited the Philippines from 12-15 January 2010 on an AFI grant exchange to learn about the innovative regulatory approach that has allowed mobile phone banking to take place in the country.

The Philippines example, enabled by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is unique in that it has allowed for the growth of a mobile banking industry that has adopted both bank-centric and telco-centric models.

The visit included a packed schedule of meetings with key mobile banking stakeholders from both private and public sectors in the Philippines. Highlights included meetings with SMART telecom, demonstrations of the linkage between rural banking and mobile banking at GM Bank, and meetings with teams responsible for the enabling regulation at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The DAB delegation was also received by Deputy Governor of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas and AFI Policy Champion Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr., who was instrumental in leading the necessary reforms in the Philippines.

The lessons learned from the exchange visit will help support and shape an evolving mobile banking regulatory approach in Afghanistan. The DAB recently published its regulation on mobile banking and entities will begin to seek licensing in the country. Coupled with experiences gained through initial pilot projects, the lessons learned from the exchange will also provide further insight on potential and performance to help mobile banking roll-out in Afghanistan.