The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Citi, a US-based bank, recently announced a partnership that will focus on increasing financial inclusion in developing countries through “mobile money” technology. USAID pledged support to local mobile money platforms of USD 23 million, while Citi will integrate its core banking solutions with the mobile money operators in order to leverage mobile payments to reach the “last-mile”. This initiative targets mobile phone users with no access to banking services and is intended to reduce the potential challenges of cash transactions such as theft, fraud, loss or high fees from remittance and loan providers.
USAID and Citi will implement their strategy in nine countries, starting with Colombia, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya and the Philippines. The partners will seek the participation of government providers of payments such as salaries and benefits, local experts in mobile money and organizations with significant cash-based operations.
In the first quarter of 2012, Citigroup reported net income of USD 2.9 billion. USAID had a total of USD 23.8 billion in budgetary resources in 2011.
USAID offers a suite of resources aimed at improving the outcomes of microenterprise development research and practice at http://microlinks.kdid.org/.
By Mihaela Grindeanu, Research Associate
About the United States Agency for International Development (USAID): The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance. It focuses on areas such as economic growth, agriculture, trade, health, democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance. Under the Development Credit Authority (DCA), it provides credit guarantees that cover up to 50 percent of defaults on wholesale loans made by private financial institutions to institutions that lend on a retail basis to underserved borrowers. USAID had a total of USD 23.8 billion in budgetary resources in 2011.
About Citi: Citigroup (Citi) is a financial services conglomerate with headquarters in New York. Citi offers a range of products and services in approximately 140 countries including consumer and commercial banking, brokerage, asset management and institutional securities and transactions services. In the first quarter of 2012, Citigroup reported net income of USD 2.9 billion. Citi’s philanthropic activities are carried out by the Citi Foundation. The Citi Foundation provides grants and guarantees focusing on the areas of microfinance, small and growing businesses, education, asset building and neighborhood revitalization.
Sources and Additional Resources:
USAID.gov story: “U.S. Agency for International Development & Citi to Accelerate Mobile Money Adoption”, http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/us-agency-international-development-citi-accelerate-mobile-money
MicroCapital.org story, March 19, 2012: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation, USAID Issue $1m Guarantee to Microfinance Institution Proempresa of Peru”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-foundation-usaid-issue-1m-guarantee-to-microfinance-institution-proempresa-of-peru/
MicroCapital.org story, May 1, 2012: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citi to Buy 1.1m Tons of Carbon Credits from MicroEnergy Credits, Offsetting Cost of Efficient Heaters Financed by Mongolian Microfinance Institution XacBank”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-citi-to-buy-1-1m-tons-of-carbon-credits-from-microenergy-credits-offsetting-cost-of-efficient-heaters-financed-by-mongolian-microfinance-institution-xacbank/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Citi, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Citigroup
MicroCapital Universe Profile: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=United+States+Agency+for+International+Development+%28USAID%29
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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