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Telenor Group and Ant Financial in strategic partnership to deliver inclusive financial services in Pakistan
Telenor Group has reached a strategic partnership agreement with Ant Financial Services Group ("Ant Financial") in Pakistan, where Ant Financial will invest USD 184.5m for a 45% stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank ("TMB"), a subsidiary of Telenor Group, to further develop TMB's mobile payment and digital financial services.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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To sell payment services in rural India, MoneyOnMobile borrows a U.S. model
In India, tens of millions of merchants still operate largely in cash with a mostly unbanked rural population. Technology could solve their problems, but the bigger differentiator may be in how payment services are sold.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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GIC-Backed Bandhan Bank’s Indian IPO to Raise Up to $689 Million
Bandhan Bank Ltd., the first Indian microfinance lender to get a banking permit, has set the price range for its initial public offering, which could raise as much as 44.73 billion rupees ($689 million).
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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India’s Little Shops Are a Massive Banking Network in the Making
Indians who still rely on cash are a ready-made financial-services market and a lucrative sideline for the corner store.
- Region
- South Asia
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Why India’s fintech, e-com firms fear Google, Facebook
In the fight between information technology, fintech and e-commerce firms in India and Google and Facebook, the global giants seem to be winning hands down. It is becoming a matter of survival for these sectoral ones, as one-stop solutions such as business listings, travel bookings, money transfers and financial services are available on both platforms and these firms rely on Google and Facebook to promote their services.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- e-commerce, fintech
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Indian e-wallets are gasping for breath
Till now, using an e-wallet involved merely downloading the app, registering one’s mobile phone number, and linking it to one’s bank account. Now, customers also need to complete a more detailed KYC procedure within a year, which involves visiting a company-approved centre and getting documents physically verified. With this additional step, the industry has lost its most important pull-factor: convenience.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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A closer look at impact investing
The mistaken rap on this kind of “social” investment is that returns are weak and realizing them takes too long.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Indian mobile wallet firms fear losing 40% of their customer base due to Know-Your-Customer norms
Firms such as Amazon Pay have seen a 30 percent drop in their customer base.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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