Pay From my Cell Phone with Electronic Money

Abstract

The electronic money or "cash from my cell phone" is part of the monetary politics promoted by the Government of the Citizens' Revolution of President Rafael Correa, with effect from 9 September 2014, once it entered into force on the International Monetary and Financial Code. The new monetary system in effect seeks to include an alternative means of payment that mitigate the lack of liquidity in the economy and stimulate consumption; For its effectiveness, it is necessary that the population and with special emphasis, those who are excluded from the formal banking system, denominated unbanked and that are generally in the rural areas of the mother country and that, generally, carry out their mercantile transactions in Cash, they can access to open an account in the Central Bank where they recharge their cell phone with the equivalent amount in dollars physical with air; Which leads to boosting the economy of the vulnerable sectors and thereby avoiding reliance on speculators, squatters or informal lenders. The research tries to determine in the most objective way possible the effectiveness, viability and appropriateness of this means of payment, to reactivate the commercial sector and concomitantly to the national economy, where the main tool is a cell phone with minimum characteristics accessible to People with low income levels. The research rigorously addresses the qualitative approach, 30 interviews are conducted to opinion leaders and entrepreneurs of the tertiary sector of the economy, both structured and semi-structured, techniques of observation and focus group, were efficiently employed in the main cities of Ecuador as Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Portoviejo and with particular emphasis on the commercial area of Santo Domingo, as one of the cities with the highest commercial growth rate.