-
From Heritage to Habit: Why Digital Remittances Languish in Some Cultures But Surge in Others
Thirty years after their introduction, digital remittances have failed to take off. Some 90% of remittances still begin as cash and end as cash - even when banks are the intermediary. Lack of trust, access and interoperability - to name just a few challenges - are keeping lower-income people tied to costlier cash transfers. However, remittance providers and related fintech entities are exploring many new avenues to encourage recipients to keep remittances in the digital ecosystem and possibly use them for other financial products, writes Steven Davidson with Mondato.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
-
Silicon Valley-Backed App Lenders Use Phone Data to Hassle Borrowers
Silicon Valley venture capital is funding a wave of fintech startups in India that use data from borrowers’ cellphones to collect on debts in ways that are illegal in both India and the U.S.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech, lending, regulations
-
Tech Giants Fight for Slice of Mobile Money Billions
The recent news that Google is partnering with Citigroup and the Stanford University Credit Union to launch Cache, a mobile payments service could be a game-changer for the financial technology sector.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, mobile finance
-
Interswitch Partners with Visa to Promote Financial Inclusion Across Africa
“Sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest-growing payments market in the world, with growth driven by a young and dynamic population, rapidly evolving consumer behaviour, and an increasing desire for payment solutions that can be accepted across the continent and abroad.”
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
-
Will Artificial Intelligence Become The Future Of Fintech In India?
About 32% of financial service providers are already using AI technologies like predictive analytics, voice recognition among others, according to joint research conducted by the National Business Research Institute and Narrative Science.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
-
How Can We Stop Losing Our Minds?: Producing a Legacy From Development Projects, Not Just a Document
Have you ever run, funded or been part of a development project? Have you ever thought: “We should definitely share what we learned?” But then someone wrote a report and that was the end of that. Gavin Starks, the founder of dgen.net, argues that shouldn’t be the end, but the beginning. The power of an open approach to development has many benefits, he says. Done well, it changes the way people collaborate during projects — and helps them produce a legacy, not just a document.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
-
UAE-Based NextGenI Closes an Acquihire deal with Pakistani Startup Roshni Rides
The trend of acqui-hiring talent for startups is relatively new especially in Pakistan where one company ‘Aqui-hires’ the talent from another company to build an in-house team, mainly to scale the product faster than they would otherwise by painstakingly hiring each individual team member.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- startups
-
New Solutions to an Old Problem: How the Internet of Things, Water Kiosks and Sensor Data are Improving Access to WASH in Kenya
When well water systems break down due to a lack of monitoring or maintenance, people can go days or even weeks without access to water for themselves and their livestock. The Kenya RAPID program seeks to solve this problem by applying innovative technology and data to improve water management and distribution. Paul Wiedmaier at Catholic Relief Services explores how the program is already making a significant impact on water access in Kenya.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications, WASH
- Tags
- data, innovation, Internet of Things, water
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.