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| Money in the Haitian Marketplace, from the British Museum Money Gallery |
This is guest post from IMTFI researcher Erin Taylor, on the new Citi Money Gallery exhibit at the British Museum.
Nestled between Andy Warhol's 'Nine Dollar Signs' and a Barbie cash register, Haiti's mobile money is making an appearance in the British Museum. Over the next few months, a collection of money-related objects such as phone cards, mobile handsets, Haitian currency and even underwear with a secret pocket will be on display in the Citi Money Gallery to show Haiti's recent transition to mass-accessible electronic payments alongside everyday accoutrements of popular financial practices.
The Citi Money Gallery was officially opened on June 12 by Naveed Sultan, the CEO of Global Transaction Services at Citigroup, and Sir Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England. Their participation was testimony to the significance of the newly-renovated exhibition under the curation of Dr. Catherine Eagleton. Featuring more than a thousand objects from the Museum’s extensive collections, the Citi Money Gallery looks at the history of the world through the lens of money, from 4500 years ago to the latest developments in digital technology.
Haiti's mobile money fits into the exhibition as an example of the ways in which money practices are changing globally. What I found most interesting about this juxtaposition was how, when placed next to these far older money forms, mobile money didn't seem any more abstract or virtual than its far older counterparts. Whether we are talking about hand-engraving coins, signing bits of paper, marking tally sticks, fashioning shells or recording numbers on a computer, all money requires some kind of material form to register accounting.
In the context of Haiti, this materiality matters in a number of ways. This became evident when we were collecting objects for the British Museum's display. It made us stop to think twice about what the materiality of mobile money might entail. In many ways, mobile money seems more like something people do than an actual product.
The most obvious object to collect was the mobile handset itself. Clearly, to be able to use mobile money, Haitians must own mobile phones and the telecommunications structure with which to use them. Until just a few years ago, mobile telecommunications were a luxury for the majority of the population: even if one could afford a phone, there was often no signal tower within useful reach. Today, according to the GSMA Mobile Money Tracker, mobile penetration in Haiti is estimated at 10.79% percent, and far more people have access to a phone through family and friends.
Mobile money has more surprising ramifications beyond handsets and towers. Given that just 15% of Haitians have bank accounts (GSMA), security and storage are major issues in handling money in Haiti. Whether storing money at home, carrying one's own money around the city, or sending money between towns via bus or boat, Haitians develop measures to keep their cash safe. The pocket underwear in the display are often worn by women known as Madame Saras who run Haiti's informal market system. They wear them as they carry produce from the country to town markets, or when they travel to Port-au-Prince to buy non-perishable goods to sell back home. Also in the display is a money box with a secret compartment, one of many that is designed to hide money at home or deter spending.
One of the more obscure, but interesting, items in the display is a metal cup that Madame Saras use for measuring out quantities of rice and beans for sale. We felt that these cups deserved a place in the display because they are such a stalwart of history throughout this small Caribbean nation. The anthropologist Sidney Mintz (1961) observed the use of these cups in Haiti's south back in the 1960s, and published a fascinating article explaining how vendors and customers haggle, altering both the quantity of goods for sale and the price simultaneously to come to a suitable deal. When trying to understand money culture, these things matter.
Funded by the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion (IMTFI), our mobile money research is part of a broader project, Mobiles, Migrants and Money: Mobility in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Along with Dr. Heather Horst and Dr. Espelencia Baptiste, we discovered that the new mobile money system, launched in November 2010, is changing the ways in which people handle cash. Haitians are not just adopting Digicel's TchoTcho Mobile and Voila's T-Cash to send money to relatives in other towns (traditional domestic remittances), but they are also using their accounts to store money for later use – what we call 'Me2Me' payments. The greater security of the storage medium makes money less visible and therefore more secure than cash.
Money also requires our trust in the system: we would not accept these abstract tokens without having faith that we can readily exchange them for consumer items, or store them for a later date. The Citi Money Gallery exhibition provides much food for thought on the prevalence and means of fraud throughout the past few millennia. Issues of trust surrounding Haiti's mobile money have less to do with counterfeiting cash, falling more squarely on the question of whether people will trust the new system enough to use it. Will the money arrive? What am I being charged? And who is storing my money?
The advantage of mobile money to overcome trust issues stems from the mobile handset itself. With plenty of experience topping up phone credit, customers already know that the system works. Furthermore, according to a report by InterMedia and backed up by our own research, Haitians tend to have a high level of trust in the telecommunications companies that run mobile money services. In fact, they trust them far more than they trust the national government, NGOs or even the Central Bank. Throughout history, the ability of fiat money to function as a unit of exchange is reinforced when that money is issued, or monitored, by trusted agencies such as kings, governments, or companies.
There is, then, a great deal of continuity between old and new forms of money. The only major difference is the time it takes for the accounting to be done. Rather than waiting for a payment to arrive from ancient Persia, or sending cash from the Haitian-Dominican border via nine-hour boat ride, transfers of value can be made instantly. And if the movers and shakers in electronic finance have their way, in a few short years the materiality of money may be limited to the ledgers that are used to record accounts: that is, the computers and telecommunications infrastructure that comprise the basic platform of money today.
References
Baptiste, Espelencia; H.A. Horst and E.B. Taylor. 2010. Haitian Monetary Ecologies and Repertoires: A Qualitative Snapshot of Money Transfer and Savings. Report for the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion (IMTFI). http://cast.nacs.uci.edu/socsci/imtfi/baptiste_horst_taylor_report_haitian_monetary_ecologies_and_repertoires_112310.pdf
Mintz, S. W. (1961). Standards of Value and Units of Measure in the Fond-des-Nègres Market Place, Haiti. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 91(1), 23-38.
Taylor, E.B., E. Baptiste and H.A. Horst. 2011. Mobile Banking in Haiti: Possibilities and Challenges. Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion, University of California Irvine. http://www.imtfi.uci.edu/files/imtfi/images/2011/haiti/taylor_baptiste_horst_haiti_mobile_money_042011.pdf
Insights for now: 
less risky than withdrawing money from an ATM or a bank because m-banking services are combined with other businesses, making it unclear to the observer whether that customer withdrew money or made a purchase. On the issue of accessibility, m-banking outlets can be far more accessible and reliable than banks, making them a viable alternative to a savings account. In all of these cases, customers decided that they would rather pay a fee to withdraw their own money than to run the risk of carrying their money around with them.
It appears that Haitians are using m-banking in a similar manner: to complement existing systems rather than replace them. It is different enough to formal banks or informal money storage to make it an effective way of mitigating risk. If a bank's system is out or a protest prevents a customer from travelling to their bank, they may still be able to go into the flower shop next door and withdraw cash. Rather than store all of one's money under one's mattress or in a savings box, Haitians may keep some at hand but deposit a portion in their m-banking account.
What lessons can we take from these insights? First, marketing the benefits of Me2Me may help build up m-banking's customer base. People are enthusiastic about promoting their own security and smoothing out their daily financial practices through providing backups and forms of insurance. Second, customer use of m-banking as a backup could be converted into savings practices. Rather than withdrawing their money within days, customers with some surplus income and trust in their m-banking provider could be incentivised to build up their balance, such as through awarding bonus airtime. A customer's savings record could then be used to apply for a loan or life insurance. If Me2Me transactions are approached in this way – as a personal bank account rather than just a better way to conduct P2P transactions – then m-banking could well achieve the goal touted by many development agencies of banking the unbanked. Me2Me transactions have the potential to play an important role in providing stability, security, and confidence in unstable markets.
Marigot is a small, leafy fishing village on Haiti's south coast whose size belies its importance on a land/sea trade route stretching from the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince. Twice per week, on Tuesdays and Saturday mornings, a fleet of small wooden boats arrives in Marigot from the border town of Anse-a-Pitres and the coastal town of Belle Anse. These boats come laden with salami, flour, coconuts, and bundles of used clothes from the Dominican town of Pedernales. Approximately fifty fishermen from Belle Anse and Anse-a-Pitres send coolers full of conch, fish and lobster to be sold in the market along with the catches of Marigot's two hundred resident fisherman. When the boats arrive at four am, they unpack their cargo and set up a market on the shore.
Three or four days until payment might not seem like much of a delay, but profit margins in the fishing industry–and, indeed, the entire town–are tight. Until they are paid for their catch, fisherman can't pay for the fuel they bought on credit or buy more to go fishing again. The entire town experiences a knock-on effect because fishermen must also purchase their household supplies on credit. Buyers are much better off because they can use their surplus cash for a few days before they have to repay the fishermen. But upon returning to Marigot they face the security issue of carrying from 20,00 to 40,000 gourdes (US$500-1000) with them. One fisherman told us that the risk of carrying cash sometimes serves as an excuse for delaying payment. He said that sometimes buyers will pay for their entire purchase the first time they buy; pay half the second time, and the third time they will claim to have been robbed while travelling over the mountain. So, even if robbery remains merely a threat, it can damage trade and profit in the fishing industry.
Mobile banking provides obvious benefits in this situation. If there were agents in the major towns along the entire trade route (in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Marigot, Belle Anse, and Anse-a-Pitres) then buyers could send money directly to the fisherman on the same day that they bought the fish. Fishermen could then pay their bills and immediately start fishing again. Money would not have to undergo the risk of crossing the mountains; nor would it have to travel back to Belle Anse and Anse-a-Pitres on open wooden boats that occasionally sink.
Mobile money's wallet size does not present a problem for the majority of small traders who inhabit the region, such as the many peasant women who travel down from the mountains to the market to sell plantains, beans and corn. Jacmel's artists could receive their pay directly from Port-au-Prince. Rapid payment would allow small traders and merchants around the towns to pay their debts and buy more stock. Customers, knowing that they can receive money quickly from other parts of the country, might have more confidence and buy more than they normally would. And families who currently conduct money transfers by boat could rest assured that their relatives are receiving their money quickly and safely. A simple piece of already-existing technology could greatly enhance the prosperity of the towns along this trade route.
Food aid recipients such as Marie seem to be using their mobile money without too much trouble. Mercy Corps help recipients register for T-Cash, give them a mobile phone, help the recipient activate their phone, train them to make payments using their mobile accounts, give them printed instructions, and visit vendors to make sure everything is running smoothly. Mercy Corps also employ volunteers to assist vendors and aid recipients during the transactions. Vendors are also happy: they are moving a lot more stock and making more money. Technical problems that crop up are worth the extra profit. Mercy Corps monitor prices in the town and encourage customers to seek out the lowest prices, as they normally would.
This approach–of targeting customers, merchants, agents, and billers simultaneously–
We are optimistic that Saint Marc can successfully transition to be a true T-Cash town. But we recommend the following: that Mercy Corps and T-Cash keep a critical eye on their joint operation to ensure that there is no conflict of interest; that they work closely with customers, merchants and agents in Saint Marc to ensure the development of a publicly available service rather than a closed aid program; and that they encourage link-up between different agents around the country. We also encourage TchoTcho Mobile to establish a strong presence in Saint Marc, in order to ensure that mobile banking in Haiti is competitive and prices stay low. Resolving the chicken-and-egg problem is not just about achieving a balance between users and agents; it is also about ensuring that different chickens are laying the eggs, and that the eggs can be transferred from one basket to another.
Who is the mobile money agent? In Haiti, businesses providing a mobile money service have a sign on the front of their shop identifying them as an “Agent Authorisé” (authorized agent). The business has gone through the training provided by the mobile money operator and is able to carry out the different transactions involved. However not all agents are created equal. Our research has found several types of agents.
Some mobile money agents are additions to already existing money transfer businesses. Voila’s T-Cash outlets are currently located in UniTransfer offices. The placement of the mobile money at the UniTransfer office is not without problems. Because there is only one line for money transfers and mobile money, T-Cash customers face the same amount of time waiting in line that existed prior to mobile money. Furthermore, mobile banking customers are more likely to be robbed using transfer houses than other kinds of businesses that are not associated with withdrawing cash. Long lines and the potential security risk associated with walking out of a mobile money outlet will discourage customers.
Benjamin, a computer programmer at a cyber café represents one of those “agents” whose work load was increased by the addition of mobile money service at his outlet. On the one hand, he is one of the most enthusiastic agents we have met because he is a true believer in the product and its promise. However, he is also a bit discouraged because as he said: “I am working for the mobile money operator but I do not feel that I am benefiting from them.” According to Benjamin, the agents are not the only ones who suffer. Clients do not receive the kind of attention they deserve, especially for a service that is so new and that involves their money. He explains, “When someone comes and are about to give them their money you have to spend all the time they need and answer all of their questions in order for them to trust you with their money.” Given that the target of mobile money are unbanked people for whom every penny counts, their ability to trust their agents is crucial to their adoption of mobile money. If clients cannot count on their agents being there or the agent has to rush off to serve other customers potential mobile money clients will think twice before adopting mobile money.
Accessibility is not the only obstacle to widespread registration for mobile money services. Education and literacy may prove to be serious stumbling blocks for both the commercial and development sides of mobile money. First, people need to know that mobile money exists, what it can be used for, and how to access it. T-Cash is currently advertising on Radio Caraibes and we have seen people on the street wearing bright green t-shirts that display the T-Cash logo and price list. Digicel will launch its advertising campaign in late April. So far we have encountered numerous people in Port-au-Prince who have heard about mobile money but do not know what it is for or where to find it. Indeed, they keep asking us to teach them about it, thinking that we are Digicel employees.
Once people are convinced of mobile money's value and have signed up, they also need to be shown how to use the service by an agent, an outlet, or by friends. Our major concern here is literacy. Most Haitians are numerically literate and have no problem using a mobile phone to make calls or check their balance. This is fine with T-Cash, which only requires a string of numbers to be entered. But TchoTcho Mobile customers must be able to read the French-language menus to make a transaction. It is curious that the simplest form of banking in Haiti requires the highest literacy rate, whereas formal banks do not require any literacy at all because the teller fills in the customer's form. Technological literacy and access is also an imperative, as it is not uncommon for Haitians to use their phones (or other people's) to make calls and nothing else.
Once in Haiti, I set out to register for both services. Registering for Voila’s T-Cash required sending a text to their dedicated number using your Voila phone. Within a few minutes you receive the secret pin required for withdrawal and transfers. Digicel’s TchoTcho Mobile is a little more bureaucratic as it requires in-person registration with a valid state-issued ID and a photocopy of said ID.
Another one of mobile money’s attractions is the ability to top up your phone account from your mobile money account. Using mobile money, you save the 10% tax that you pay when you buy a phone card. Mobile money is also economic in terms of time and convenience. Prior to mobile money I could only top up my phone using a phone card or a Pap Padap vendor. These transactions are limited because they require agent which is not always available either because of where I am or because shops are closed. While online top up is available, it is not an option for many people because it requires internet access and a credit card, two luxuries that are not readily available in Haiti. No story could illustrate the significance of mobile money for topping up your phone as this scenario presented by Samuel, a 19 year old university student. He said, “Have you ever been talking to a girl late at night and just when the conversation gets interesting you run out of money on your phone? At this hour there is not a store open or an available Pap Padap or Direk Direk vendor. Even if there were, you would be too scared to go out at that time. With Mobile money you can continue the conversation without losing momentum because once lost, you cannot recapture that moment.”