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Bitcoin’s rise in African markets is driven by an old Russian ponzi scheme
Cryptocurrency experts have touted the potential for their tech to transform the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable populations: refugees, the unbanked, those living on less than a dollar a day. Yet the story of Bitcoin’s social impact is more complicated than the headlines portray.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Reserve Bank of India asks financial firms to make mobile wallets interoperable within six months
“In subsequent phases, interoperability shall be enabled between wallets and bank accounts through UPI. Similarly, interoperability for PPIs issued in the form of cards shall also be enabled in due course,” said the directive issued by RBI.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Releases Open-Source Software to Support Efforts that Expand Access to Financial Services in Developing Countries
Current data from the World Bank shows that nearly two billion people in developing economies lack bank accounts and miss out on the benefits and security that basic financial services provide. Digital financial services, such as mobile money on cell phones, have rapidly expanded over the last two decades because they are convenient for users and cost-effective for companies aiming to serve new markets.
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Emerging markets drive uptake of digital payments
The World Payments Report 2017, produced by global IT consultancy Capgemini and BNP Paribas, the banking group, also estimates that volumes generated by emerging economies will grow by 19.6% – or three times the rate of mature economies.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Mongolia’s Untapped Lending Market Has Earned This Japanese-Backed Fintech Startup A $30M Valuation
In Mongolia, where the average monthly income is $390, informal loans between friends or family members are commonplace as credit and small bank loans are hard to get. On the other hand, small informal loans are almost expected to not be paid back.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Fintech Major Mastercard Launches Its First Innovation Center In India
The India Innovation Centre Mastercard Labs will join hands with other financial institutions and merchant partners to identify and ideate futuristic digital payment solutions, to better safety and security.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Accelerating fintech in China
In 2016, investment in mainland Chinese and Hong Kong fintech ventures totaled $10.2 billion, exceeding North America’s $9.2 billion. Many domestic financial services and e-commerce conglomerates are supporting Chinese fintech startups.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- fintech, startups, venture capital
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One nation, under code: How India leads the way in the interoperability of QR code for payments
Thanks to Paytm, the use of QR code as a form of mobile payment made an entry and has begun to impact. The black-and-white sign is sported by kirana stores, vegetable carts and tea stalls all over the country. In the aftermath of demonetization, Paytm made it ubiquitous in their attempt to sign up merchants for acceptance of Paytm wallet.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia