Source: A. Little. World .
Search Results for: branchless
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Branchless Banking Could Possibly Transform Microfinance Sector in Malawi
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reports that currently in Malawi, approximately 90 percent of the population is unbanked. Though there is large demand for financial services, the Malawian microfinance sector suffers from lack of financial resources, outreach, and sustainability. A very weak physical infrastructure is another huge obstacle.
PAPER WRAP-UP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, Focus Note: The Early Experience with Branchless Banking (On the Potential of Branchless Banking in the Microfinance Sector)
This article is based on research conducted on branchless banking projects in 18 countries worldwide during 2007. Written by Gautam Ivantury and Ignacio Mas of the Technology Program at the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), this 16-page document was released in April, 2008 by CGAP and is available here.
Branchless banking is defined as bank services that use technology such as payment cards or mobile phones to identify customers and record transactions, the use of third-party outlets as agents for financial services providers, offer minimum of basic cash deposit and withdrawal and transaction or payment services, have the backing of a government-recognized deposit-taking institutions, and are available to be used during normal business hours without needing to go to bank branches.
PRESS RELEASE: Vodafone and Roshan to Serve Microfinance Institution Customers Via M-Paisa Branchless Banking, the First Mobile Money Transfer Service in Afghanistan
Source: Vodafone.
PRESS RELEASE: Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan Special Fund to Bring eftPOS SmartCards, Branchless Banking to Rural Customers of National Bank of Vanuatu
Source: Asian Development Bank (ADB).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: CGAP Releases Notes on Regulation of Branchless Banking in India
CGAP has partnered with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the GSM Association, a global trade association representing over 700 mobile phone operators from 218 countries, to conduct diagnostic reviews of the regulatory environment for branchless banking approaches in Pakistan, Kenya, South Africa, the Philippines, India, Russia and Brazil. The report on India, summarized here, was released this month. MicroCapital covered the release of the Kenya report in a story dated November 26. 2007, and the Pakistan report can be downloaded from CGAP.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: CGAP Report on Branchless Banking in Kenya Cautiously Optimistic on Continued Innovations in Microfinance
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) calls Kenya a world leader in fostering mobile phone banking and other ‘branchless’ banking services. The Government of Kenya and the Central Bank have shown a strong interest in branchless banking and have expressed their commitment to institute legal and regulatory changes that will support new technology-based products and services and enable increased outreach. Read more in “Notes on Regulation of Branchless Banking in Kenya“.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: HugoBank, KT, Mashreq, Raqami Islamic, Telenor Microfinance Earn Regulatory Approval to Pilot Digital Banking Services in Pakistan
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recently furnished five commercial banks with in-principle approval to set up digital banking platforms. Three of the five – HugoBank, KT Bank Pakistan and Raqami Islamic Digital Bank – have been established this year while the others – Mashreq Bank Pakistan and Telenor Microfinance Bank – have longer track records. These banks can now offer digital financial services on a limited basis, before final rollouts are approved by SBP.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Angala Fintech Launches Payrail Agency App to Expand Agent Banking in Nigeria
Angala Financial Technology, a Nigerian firm, recently announced the release of its Payrail Agency mobile app, which allows entrepreneurs to offer branchless banking services to their customers. The app targets farmers as well as
SPECIAL REPORT: “Financial Inclusion Compass 2021” Reveals a Sector Grappling with the Consequences of COVID-19 – and Trying to Look Beyond It
In
2018, e-MFP launched the first Financial Inclusion Compass, a new annual publication series to collate sector opinions on emerging short-, medium- and long-term trends in the financial inclusion sector. e-MFP is delighted to now publish the English language version of the Financial Inclusion Compass 2021 – the fourth in the series.
The survey on which this paper is based was open in May 2021, with financial services providers (FSPs), investors, donors, researchers and support services providers evaluating and describing the importance of various current Trends, rating future New Areas of Focus, and providing open-comment qualitative input on the expected (and hoped-for) direction of financial inclusion progress.
The survey had two main sections: in Section 1, respondents rated from 1-10 the current importance of a list of 20 Trends and evaluated a list of 16 future New Areas of Focus to rank their highest five in terms of future significance. Optional comments on each were possible. Section 2 had three optional and open-ended questions, with a focus on the impact of the pandemic.
The Compass received 125 responses from 39 countries. A plurality of respondents were FSPs, followed by consultants/support services providers, infrastructure organisations, funders and researchers. On the main geographic focus of respondents’ work, a plurality selected Global, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Trends
Two new trends, introduced in response to the uniquely challenging context of the pandemic, took the top two spots
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Easypaisa of Pakistan Partners with NADRA, Enabling Access to 12k Kiosks; Receives $45m in Equity from Ant, Telenor
Easypaisa, a digital payment platform owned by Pakistan’s Telenor Microfinance Bank (TMB), recently partnered with government-backed National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Technologies Limited,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Karandaaz Unifies Data on Financial Services in Pakistan into Single Portal
An NGO named Karandaaz Pakistan recently launched a collection of data on financial services and “selected socioeconomic indicators” on
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Digital Wallets for Illiterate Customers in India, Agency Banking in Africa, Gender Equality in Financial Services
“Digital Wallet Adoption for the Oral Segment in India: Concept Development for MoWo (Mobile Wallet for Oral);” by Brett Hudson Matthews, Richa Valechha, Vivek Anand, Avantika Kushwaha, Saborni Poddar and Rachit Ohri; published by MicroSave; May 2017; 50 pages, available at:
http://www.microsave.net/files/pdf/DWA_Research_Concept_Development_for_MoWO.pdf
The authors describe a project conducted during 2016 in India on the Mobile Wallet for Oral (MoWo), a mobile-money service designed for the “oral” market segment, which includes 264 million people in the country who have low reading-skill levels. A group of 310 participants from various communities were subjected to “signing, reading and numeracy” tests. Thereafter, 138 people of varying literacy levels participated in focus groups on the user interface of the mobile wallet. Finally, 29 participants performed usability testing.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Telenor Pakistan Acquires Additional 49% Equity Stake in Tameer Microfinance Bank, Bringing Its Ownership to 100%
Telenor Pakistan, a subsidiary of Norway-based telecom provider Telenor Group, recently bought additional shares of the Tameer Microfinance Bank, a Pakistan-based provider of microfinance services, increasing its stake from 51 percent to 100 percent.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tanzania’s Yetu Microfinance to Launch Initial Public Offering of $5.36m
Yetu Microfinance (Yetu), an unlicensed microfinance institution (MFI) in Tanzania, recently announced that it will launch an initial public offering (IPO) with the aim of raising TZS 12.5 billion (approximately USD 5.63 million) for expansion and to comply with the country’s regulatory minimum core capital of TZS 5 billion (approximately USD 2.25 million) for licensed MFIs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Seeks Partners for Customer-Centric Financial Services Project
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit policy and research center devoted to worldwide growth of financial access, is searching for financial service providers with whom to partner to increase customer centricity within the providers’ systems.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Branch International Offers Mobile Microcredit Based on Behavioral Data in Kenya with Plans to Rollout Worldwide
Branch International Inc., “a mobile-based microfinance institution for the world,” reportedly has launched in Kenya.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Papua New Guinea Commits to Digitizing Government Payments
The government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) recently committed to shifting all government payments, including government salaries and social protection payments, to electronic form, with the goal of increasing security, transparency, financial inclusion and convenience [1].