NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, October 24, 2016

The MasterCard Foundation today presented its second annual Clients at the Centre Prize to Hello Paisa. The US$150,000 Prize recognizes the company’s innovative work in South Africa to facilitate international money transfers for foreign workers.

The award came after the 300+ members of the audience at The MasterCard Foundation Symposium on Financial Inclusion voted for one of three finalist firms competing for the Prize. The Symposium is the annual gathering of financial service practitioners and experts serving the needs of poor people in developing countries, being held this year from October 20-21 in Kigali, Rwanda.

The MasterCard Foundation believes that banks and other financial service providers in developing countries should focus on the needs and expectations of people living in poverty. Putting poor clients at the centre of the design of new financial products and services helps bring underserved people into the formal banking system, improving their livelihoods and their ability to plan for the future. The Clients at the Centre Prize finds and recognizes the most customer-focused organizations working to deliver access to formal financial products and services to poor people.