Retail Payment Systems
In the OIC Member Countries
36
M-Pesa is particularly successful as a retail payment system because it is accessible through
basic mobile phones and has extensive reach into large segments of the population that
previously not covered by financial institutions (unbanked).
What is distinct about M-Pesa success story in Kenya is the combination between (1) pre-
existing conditions that made Kenya a conducive environment for a successful mobile money
deployment, (2) a clever service design that facilitated rapid adoption and early capturing of
network effects, and (3) a business execution strategy that helped M-Pesa rapidly gain a
critical mass of users, and avoiding the adverse chicken-and-egg (two-sided market) problems
(Mas and Radcliffe, 2010).
BI Card - Islamic Credit Cards of Bank IslamMalaysia
Credit cards are popular payment methods because they were the first large-scale means for
people to conduct economic transactions without having to carry cash. What makes Islamic
credit cards different from conventional credit cards is that the card must meet shariah
requirements on lending, must have certainty to be widely accepted, and should not encourage
prohibited (haraam) behaviour (Massey, 2007).
The BI Card is the first Islamic credit card and was issued in Malaysia by Bank Islam Malaysia
Bhd. in 2003. It was also the first credit card to adopt Europay-Mastercard-Visa (EMV) chip
technology in Southeast Asia (Ferdian et al., 2008). The card holders are only permitted to
make halal transactions, excluding six categories that does not meet shariah requirements
including payments in bars, night clubs, for alcoholic drinks, and gambling.
Even though Islamic credit cards are now in operations and serve Muslim customers to
perform such transactions consistent with Islamic principles, there are some disputes among
jurists regarding the aqad used and the involvement of the riba element. Nevertheless, this
effort represents a trend in combining modern payment technologies with Islamic banking
principles and could be regarded as a potential model for other OIC country banks.