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Viewpoint: As Safaricom turns 18, has its innovation ‘conveyor belt’ slowed?
After the global acclaimed mobile money transfer service Mpesa, Safaricom has not had another innovation that has captured its users.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Women Worldwide Struggle to Access Banking Services. Bitcoin Is Only Making That Worse
Blockchain technology is currently being used to distribute aid to 100,000 Syrian refugeesby The World Food Programme. And plans for future blockchain initiatives within the U.N. alone run from ending child trafficking to providing services for women and girls in humanitarian settings.
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- Finance
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Google touts 30 million monthly users for its mobile-payment platform in India
Alphabet Inc.’s Google has dominant positions in search, advertising and mobile devices, but the company has had to play from behind when it comes to mobile payments.
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- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Report: Over 8 of 10 Small Banks, Microlenders and Co-Ops in the Philippines are Not Ready to Go Digital
“The dominant picture in our data is that majority of financial institutions are not yet ready to transform their business at this point, confirming anecdotal evidence long held by the industry,” wrote FINTQ in the report. “This conclusion indeed raises a notch higher the urgency in enabling financial institutions to be digitally ready, as the pattern uncovered in our data has profound implications on the country’s progress towards expanding financial inclusion in the countryside.”
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Report: Tencent, Ant Financial Entry to Boost Philippines Financial Services
Tencent and US-based private equity firm KKR marked their entry in the Philippines on October 4 following a deal to invest up to $175 million in PLDT’s digital arm Voyager Innovations.
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- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Why Kenyan Borrowers Aren’t Scared of Defaulting on Mobile Loans
The majority of Kenyans borrowing loans from mobile phones do not believe they have to pay loans back, a situation that is troubling banks venturing in this lucrative but risky segment.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Zimbabwe is hiking mobile money taxes to plug its fiscal deficit, but it could backfire
In a country with a history of cash shortages, multiple currencies and hyperinflation, mobile money had become a key payment alternative. Cash is hardly ever accessible in Zimbabwe as banks frequently run out of monetary notes, leaving mobile money and bank cards as the only transaction options.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Western Union Makes Digital Push Amid Fierce Competition for Money Transfers
Of the $81.8 billion Western Union consumers transferred in 2017, 91% was sent across international borders. Raj Agrawal, finance chief of the company, estimated that westernunion.com money-transfer revenue—which includes use of the mobile app—last year topped $400 million, or about 11% of consumer revenue.
- Categories
- Finance