MOSIP Strengthens the Identity-Payments Connection by Joining Mojaloop's Global Partner Program
Authored and published by Mojaloop Foundation, this guest article introduces their new Global Partner Program and highlights MOSIP’s involvement as a new partner.
The Mojaloop Foundation’s new Global Partner Program brings together organisations that build inclusive instant payment systems (IIPS) and contribute to digital public infrastructure around the world. Among the inaugural partners is MOSIP, an open source initiative that helps governments issue foundational digital identity at population scale. We spoke with Arun Gurumurthy, chief strategy officer at MOSIP, to learn how this partnership aims to unlock practical progress for inclusive digital economies.
Identity as a Catalyst for Financial Inclusion
MOSIP provides a robust, modular framework that governments can adopt to build or extend national identity systems anchored in privacy, security and interoperability. Whether adopted from scratch or integrated with existing registries, MOSIP equips countries with modern tools for verifying identity at scale.
As Gurumurthy explains, digital identity is foundational to economic trust and financial inclusion. “The most fundamental use case for national identity systems is enabling access to finance,” he said. “Without digital identity, it becomes significantly harder to bring individuals into the formal economy.”
He points to compelling data from India’s Aadhaar program — the world’s largest biometric ID system — which helped compress 47 years’ worth of projected financial inclusion progress into just seven years. “Digital identity accelerates what would otherwise take decades,” he said. “It lowers the cost of KYC, reduces friction, and opens the door to digital financial services.”
A Natural Alignment with Mojaloop
MOSIP and Mojaloop Foundation share more than mission alignment — they share a vision for how open source digital public goods can drive systemic transformation. Gurumurthy noted that MOSIP drew inspiration from Mojaloop Foundation’s early work in open source payments and adopted similar organizational structures and governance principles.
“Digital identity and inclusive payments are inherently connected,” he said. “It was always clear that MOSIP and Mojaloop Foundation should partner — we were simply waiting for the right moment to make it happen.”
Now part of the Global Partner Program, MOSIP and Mojaloop Foundation are working to showcase reference implementations that demonstrate how national digital ID systems can serve as trusted identity proxies in payment ecosystems. Gurumurthy emphasized that this isn’t a vendor-client relationship, but a collaboration between two public digital infrastructure platforms — one that can help countries accelerate digital transformation.
From Identity to Inclusive Payments
MOSIP and Mojaloop complement each other as both organizations are working toward practical interoperability. The goal: enable governments and service providers to connect identity verification with digital payments — from account opening and KYC and government-to-person (G2P) transfers and beyond.
“We want to make it easy for foundational identity to lead seamlessly into financial inclusion,” Gurumurthy said. “That’s only possible through practical reference integrations and real-world use cases.”
He envisions a future where individuals use their national digital ID — issued through MOSIP — to verify their identity for a wide range of financial services built on Mojaloop’s rails. This kind of interoperable infrastructure would not only support better service delivery but also reduce the burden on banks and fintechs to build verification systems from scratch.
Scaling Adoption Through Interoperability
Both organizations are committed to lowering barriers for adoption. For Gurumurthy, the real value of the partnership lies in showcasing how interoperable, modular systems can accelerate digital transformation. “We want to be practical,” he said. “By working together, we make it easier for governments to implement both identity and payments infrastructure and reap the cumulative benefits.”
He urges policymakers and developers to think about financial inclusion at the infrastructure level. “Better financial systems drive economic transformation,” he said. “Governments should treat digital financial infrastructure — including ID and payments — as foundational to progress.”
A Shared Commitment to Open Systems
MOSIP’s inclusion in Mojaloop’s partner program reflects a shared belief in public digital infrastructure that is open, inclusive, and built for long-term impact. Together, the two organizations are helping countries bridge critical gaps — from verifying identity to delivering services to the last mile.
As Gurumurthy puts it, “1 + 1 should become 11 — not just two. That’s the power of digital public goods working together.
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