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India’s New “Payment Banks” Expected to Spur Innovation
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday released the final guidelines for licensing of payments and small banks. These banks are intended to cover the unbanked and underbanked areas and increase banking penetration in the country, stated the circular. Let’s take a look at the changes that these banks are likely to bring in financial services.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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Vodacom Looking to Expand Use of M-pesa
Vodacom is in talks with small and big companies with the aim of getting them to use its mobile payment platform, m-pesa, to pay salaries to employees and allow customers to pay for goods using the system.
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- Uncategorized
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Weekly Roundup – 11/27/14: Giving thanks, near and far
We’re wrapping up the week a bit early due to the Thanksgiving holiday week. NextBillion will resume its normal publishing schedule on Monday. For U.S. readers, on behalf of the NB team, we hope you had/have a happy Thanksgiving. For our non-American audience, which comprises the vast majority of our readers, we wish you the same holiday sentiments; those being abundance and health, and the blessings that come with each.
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- Uncategorized
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It’s About Launching Ecosystems, Not Just Products: Insights on the next generation of mobile financial services from the Mondato Summit Asia
As the explosive growth of mobile financial services (MFS) reshapes economies around the world, the Mondato Summit Asia brought an impressive line-up of speakers and panelists from all parts of the ecosystem to explore the next generation of MFS in Southeast Asia. Chris Connolly delivers some highlights - and tweets - from the recent conference.
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- Uncategorized
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Microloans Help Latinas Become Entrepreneurs In Los Angeles
As if it were a sacred ritual, every week Gloria Sánchez meets to talk business with four other Hispanic women who are on their way to entrepreneurship thanks to the system of microloans.
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- Uncategorized
- Tags
- microfinance
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Banks Get Better Access To Tap Micro Segment
The newly launched branchless banking regulation will enable banks to expand their financial services to disadvantaged and low-income segments at affordable costs, a senior official of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has said.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Roadmap: Microfinance Industry Eyes 10m Customers By 2018
Perhaps this is the reason why Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) Chairman Nadeem Hussain believes that an impressive growth of 20-25% per annum for the past many years has still not made the country’s microfinance industry ‘relevant’ in the fight against poverty.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Finance: Egypt’s Small Borrowers Have Big Potential
A new law permitting non-bank for-profit lending institutions may unleash a revolution in microfinance by allowing more actors and innovators to get involved.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- microfinance
