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Pakistan State Bank Issues Rules for Mobile Banking Interoperability
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) jointly developed regulations for mobile banking interoperability for banks and mobile network operators to enhance outreach and connectivity.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Facebook Has Finally Launched Free Basics in Its Biggest African Market
Social network giant, Facebook, has launched its Free Basics service in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country—and its biggest market on the continent. The platform which allows users to access listed websites at no cost was launched in partnership with Airtel, the country’s third largest telecoms operator with almost 34 million subscribers.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: The Challenges of Mobile Financial Inclusion
One of the gating factors to financial inclusion is the mobile network itself. It sounds simple to say that all of Africa can have access to mobile money, and they can, but if each telco has different wallet structures, charges and fees, then the ease of usage falls sharply. This is why interoperability is a key factor and Tanzania leads the way in this regard.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Airtel Ghana Launches Mobile Money Loan Scheme
Airtel has partnered with Fidelity Bank and Tiaxa, a global leader in Nano credits to launch Airtel Money Bosea – a Nano loan scheme that provides access to financial services enabling customers to borrow money instantly through their Airtel Money wallet anytime, anywhere.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
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Zimbabwe’s Cash Shortage Hits Mobile Money Services
Mobile money transfer agencies in Bulawayo have in the past few days recorded low business due to the cash crisis that hit the country in recent weeks.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
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TransferTo, Barri Partner to Provide Mobile Money Transfers in El Salvador
Barri Financial Group, a U.S.-based money transfer service provider, has signed a strategic partnership with TransferTo, a B2B mobile payment network, to enable real-time mobile money transfers to Tigo Money accounts in El Salvador.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- fintech, remittances
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Connectivity for the Bottom Billion: A Call for Collective Action
In the developed world, we take the universal availability of the Internet largely for granted. That connectivity in turn creates tremendous opportunities and benefits for individuals and businesses alike. What we often forget is that less than half of the world’s population has access to the Internet. Most of the 4 billion people who live in an unconnected world live in developing countries in Africa and South Asia. The problem is particularly acute for the billion people with the lowest incomes, who tend to live in rural areas of developing countries where there is little or no infrastructure to provide connectivity. This lack of access to connectivity leaves billions cut off from the Internet and thus the ability to use it to improve their lives and economic situations.
- Categories
- Technology
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Safaricom of Kenya Talking to Banks to Grow Mobile Money
Safaricom Ltd., Kenya’s largest company by market value, is in talks with 19 banks in the East African nation to increase users of its mobile-money transfer platform, Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore said after the company posted higher annual profits.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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