The document summarizes Peru's first truly interoperable mobile money solution called Bim, which aims to increase financial inclusion. A unique public-private partnership called Modelo Peru between the government, banks, telecoms, and Ericsson collaborated to design and launch Bim. Bim allows users across Peru's major mobile networks to deposit, withdraw, transfer money, and pay bills using their mobile phones, even without bank accounts or internet access. This partnership and interoperable platform could potentially provide secure financial services to millions of Peruvians, especially those in remote areas, and support Peru's socioeconomic development.

1. ASBANC
SUCCESS STORY
FINANCIAL
INCLUSION
FOR ALL
World’s first truly interoperable mobile money solution
aims to empower Peru’s unbanked

2. Peru is a fast-growing market
with four operators and an
estimated 33 million mobile
connections for a population of
approximately 31 million (Source:
GSMA, 2015). Despite high mobile
penetration and a supportive
regulatory environment, mobile
financial services had yet to take
off in the country. Early mobile
money deployments were largely
unsuccessful and estimates put
the number of banked people in
Peru as low as 30 percent.
Nearly half of the labor force is
casually employed in the service
sector or the agricultural and
fishing industries (Source: World
Bank, 2014). Thus, cash is the
most frequent method of payment
and concerns about security when
carrying, transporting, or handling
cash are widespread.
Challenges
Peru has more than 30,000
banking agents and nearly 11
million debit cards for a population
of approximately 31 million, yet its
complex topography – comprising
the high altitudes of the Andes and
the low-lying natural beauty of the
Amazon rainforest – is an obstacle
for people living in remote areas to
access financial services such as
microfinance or social payments.
Other reasons why so many
people in Peru lacked access to
formal banking services include
high degrees of poverty and low
levels of literacy – a common trend
found across Latin America.
Solution
The stakeholders involved in
Modelo Perú shared resources
and experience gained from
previous successful deployments
around the world to build a new
solution designed to reach scale,
ensure liquidity, and make mobile
financial services attractive to the
unbanked.
Ericsson enabled Peru’s financial
service providers to reuse existing
assets to bundle secure telecom
and financial services and is
currently providing PDP with
systems integration, learning
services, managed services
and support. Ericsson’s mobile
financial service offering includes
full-system integration into one
MOBILE FINANCIAL
SERVICES IN PERU
CUSTOMER PROFILE
Unprecedented collaboration led to the launch on February 16, 2016 of the world’s first truly interoperable mobile financial
services focused on financial inclusion. The Peruvian government, in a unique partnership with financial institutions, telcos
and other shareholders informally known as Modelo Perú, cooperated and shared resources to research, design and launch
Bim (short for billetera móvil or “mobile wallet” in Spanish).
Bim is operated by Peruvian Digital Payments (PDP), a new service provider co-owned by the Association of Banks of Peru
(ASBANC) as well as many of its member banks and electronic money issuers. For its part in this historic process, Ericsson
supplied its mobile financial service solution including the development of a mobile money platform, systems integration,
learning services, managed services and support.
www.asbanc.com.pe
2014
Ericsson is chosen by ASBANC to design and implement its
mobile money project, the country’s largest private initiative for
financial inclusion.
2015
Peruvian Digital Payments (PDP) conducts focus groups
designed to educate participants in basic mobile money
transactions such as cash in/out, P2P money transfers, and
verifying payments. Feedback gathered from the focus groups
was used to improve Bim’s system design.
Ericsson and ASBANC are recognized with a Global Telecoms
Business Innovation Award in the category of Business Service
Innovation.
2016
The official launch of Bim, the first fully interoperable national
payments platform, which is focused on driving financial
inclusion by extending services to Peru’s unbanked and
offering accessibility.
2019
ASBANC aims to include 2.1 million Peruvians with Bim by 2019.
Timeline

3. [Bim] will mean welfare for the country,
welfare for our population, and it
will improve their economic and
educational level.”
Oscar Rivera,
President of ASBANC

4. CUSTOMER
ASBANC
CHALLENGE
>> Reach large numbers of poor,
unbanked people – some in
remote areas of the country.
SOLUTION
>> A multi-stakeholder solution
powered by a mobile money
platform, systems integration,
learning services, managed
services and support.
RESULT
>> True interoperability across
the ecosystem and potentially
millions of poor people offered
secure, affordable mobile financial
services.
overview
platform capable of hosting all
services from different financial
and commercial institutions
to secure interoperability. The
resulting common mobile
payments platform bridges the
services of Banco de Crédito
del Perú (BCP), Interbank, BBVA
Continental, and Scotiabank,
as well serving the largest
public bank, Banco de la
Nación, several non-banking
formal financial institutions, and
telecommunications operators.
Today, Bim is accessible to
subscribers of Movistar, Claro,
and Entel mobile services – the
three companies that provide
the vast majority of mobile
connections in Peru. Bim operates
on smartphones and feature
phones, and end-users are not
required to have formal bank
accounts, internet access, or even
calling credit. Bim currently offers
subscribers the option to cash-in/
out, check account balances,
make person-to-person transfers,
and top-up mobile airtime in a fast
and convenient way.
The Peruvian Model
The Modelo Perú has become a
symbol of the potential to reach
large numbers of unbanked
people regardless of location
or digital literacy. Historic levels
of collaboration between the
stakeholders has led to the launch
of practical tools that simplify
day-to-day financial activity,
offering time savings, convenience,
and secure money management,
as well as a way to enter into the
formal economy. This will benefit
Peruvian society over time, and
is expected to eventually become
an integral part of the country’s
socio-economic development.
Ericsson
SE-164 83 Stockholm, Sweden
Telephone +46 10 719 0000
www.ericsson.com/m-commerce
287 01-FGB 101 0195 Uen
© Ericsson AB 2016
Electronic money is a great opportunity
to bank the population.”
Luis Marino,
Financial Inclusion Senior Analyst Economic and
Finance Ministry