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Latin America’s Fintech Rebels Declare War on Inflation
A frustrated 49 percent of the region’s population and many small- and medium-size businesses are outright excluded from traditional financial services, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). Others, who have access, don’t even bother using the system because of decades of broken promises.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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Uber rival Go-Jek drives payments push with acquisition of three fintech start-ups
Go-Jek said the acquisition move would bolster its activity in both online and offline payments, as well as increase engagement in the financial services in Indonesia. Go-Jek's mobile payments service Go-Pay is one of the most popular payment platforms in Indonesia.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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IFC, MasterCard study to boost financial inclusion
The study, part of Sh3.85 billion ($37.4 million) Partnership for Financial Inclusion initiative by the IFC and the MasterCard Foundation, focused on Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Zambia.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Are ‘Convenience Fees’ Halting the Adoption of Digital Finance?
Policymakers, financial firms and tech companies are pushing India full-steam toward a "less-cash" society. But digital finance could be hamstrung by a low-tech anachronism: transaction fees. IFMR LEAD recently teamed up with J.P. Morgan on a pilot program involving lower-income urban and rural households in Pune, Maharashtra. The research explored just how willing customers are to pay for digital transactions, such as withdrawals and money transfers, when presented with a menu of fee options.
- Categories
- Finance
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Perspective: A Digital Finance Prescription for Universal Health Coverage
There are some obvious opportunities for financial services to play a role in achieving universal health coverage. Savings accounts can help people plan for health expenses, access to credit can mean the difference between getting needed care and not, and insurance can help mitigate against health shocks that too often push people deeper into poverty. Offering these products to low-income customers is traditionally risky and expensive, but that picture is quickly changing with the growth of digital financial services (DFS), which leverage digital channels to reach more remote customers at lower cost.
- Categories
- Finance, Health Care
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech, SDGs
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Here’s how Aadhaar program is helping empower women in India
According to a Livemint report, all homes in the western state of Rajasthan have at least one bank account virtually, and most have several, since the introduction of the Aadhaar program.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Beyond the Bubble: What’s Cool, Potentially Cool, And Clearly Not Cool About Bitcoin in Financial Inclusion?
Bitcoin owners are laughing all the way to the (virtual) bank: The cryptocurrency’s value has gone up over 2,000 percent in the past year. But along with concerns about a likely "market correction," this has raised some pressing questions about its value as a tool for financial inclusion. Ignacio Mas explores Bitcoin's potential on that front, offering four points to consider.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
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Hope is the Face of Financial Inclusion: See the winners of CGAP’s 2017 photo contest
A picture tells a thousand words and CGAP's 2017 photo contest yielded more than 3,000 entries from photographers in 76 countries, each telling a personal story of resilience. This year CGAP put out the call for images illustrating the economic lives of poor people and the impact that financial services can have. Explore the winners and discover the powerful stories behind them.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Finance, Technology
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