The new Mojaloop software, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is available, free-of-cost, for software developers to adapt and banks, financial service providers and companies to implement.
Mojaloop is said to be the first model that can help extend interoperability from mobile money providers to any bank, merchant or government institution in a way that specifically meets the needs of the poor. It reduces the complexity and cost of building all-inclusive payment platforms.
Kosta Peric, deputy director, Financial Services for the Poor at the Gates Foundation, says just as the Internet revolutionised digital communication, open source solutions like Mojaloop can spark innovation, democratise access to digital payments, empower billions of new customers, and drive massive economic growth in developing markets.
"Interoperability of digital payments has been the toughest hurdle for the financial services industry to overcome. With Mojaloop, our technology partners have finally achieved a solution that can apply to any service, and we invite banks and the payment industry to explore and test this tool," Peric adds.
Mojaloop (from the Swahili word ‘moja' which means ‘one') was created by the Gates Foundation's Level One Project, which aims to build inclusive payment models to benefit the world's poor.
It was created in partnership with fintech developers Ripple, Dwolla, ModusBox, Crosslake Technologies and Software Group, using technology such as the Interledger Protocol, a solution for settling funds among multiple providers across their individual systems.
The Mojaloop development project also brought together four mobile systems companies – Ericsson, Huawei, Telepin, and Mahindra Comviva – to develop an Open API for mobile money interoperability. These APIs will allow mobile money providers to integrate seamlessly with Mojaloop and products built from it.
It was designed to ultimately serve as a model for national payment switching systems that, for example, enable an individual's digital wallet to connect with an employer's bank account and her children's school account to complete monthly transactions.
