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Digital Isn’t Always the Answer: Building Choice into Financial Inclusion Solutions for Smallholder Farmers
Smallholder farmers often live in remote villages, located hours away from towns and cities where they might be able to access consistent mobile networks, bank accounts or other formal financial access points. So while many farmers are curious about the idea of receiving the payment for their cash crops in digital formats, the options for them to use that digital currency are limited. Instead of pushing technology for technology’s sake, financial inclusion projects ought to seek diverse solutions that are appropriate and accessible for customers based on their needs.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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IFC, MasterCard study to boost financial inclusion
The study, part of Sh3.85 billion ($37.4 million) Partnership for Financial Inclusion initiative by the IFC and the MasterCard Foundation, focused on Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Zambia.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Are ‘Convenience Fees’ Halting the Adoption of Digital Finance?
Policymakers, financial firms and tech companies are pushing India full-steam toward a "less-cash" society. But digital finance could be hamstrung by a low-tech anachronism: transaction fees. IFMR LEAD recently teamed up with J.P. Morgan on a pilot program involving lower-income urban and rural households in Pune, Maharashtra. The research explored just how willing customers are to pay for digital transactions, such as withdrawals and money transfers, when presented with a menu of fee options.
- Categories
- Finance
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Perspective: A Digital Finance Prescription for Universal Health Coverage
There are some obvious opportunities for financial services to play a role in achieving universal health coverage. Savings accounts can help people plan for health expenses, access to credit can mean the difference between getting needed care and not, and insurance can help mitigate against health shocks that too often push people deeper into poverty. Offering these products to low-income customers is traditionally risky and expensive, but that picture is quickly changing with the growth of digital financial services (DFS), which leverage digital channels to reach more remote customers at lower cost.
- Categories
- Finance, Health Care
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech, SDGs
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Beyond the Bubble: What’s Cool, Potentially Cool, And Clearly Not Cool About Bitcoin in Financial Inclusion?
Bitcoin owners are laughing all the way to the (virtual) bank: The cryptocurrency’s value has gone up over 2,000 percent in the past year. But along with concerns about a likely "market correction," this has raised some pressing questions about its value as a tool for financial inclusion. Ignacio Mas explores Bitcoin's potential on that front, offering four points to consider.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
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Press release: Moneyfellows wins MetLife Foundation Financial Innovation Competition powered by Verb, Secures $50,000 Grant
The competition was open to entrepreneurs, businesses and non-profit organizations and aimed to discover innovative solutions to promote financial capability and access to financial services. With more than 30 entries, Moneyfellows won the grand prize and collected a grant of $50,000.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Fintech Listed as Emerging Risk to Financial Stability in Report
“Fintech risk, which was included in this survey for the first time, was acknowledged as a significant source of risk by 15 percent of respondents,” the authors wrote. “Generally recognized as holding great promise, these results demonstrate a growing awareness of potential emerging risks, highlighting the need to evaluate both risks and rewards associated with fintech initiatives.”
- Categories
- Finance
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Four Ways to Tackle Weak Competition in Digital Financial Services in Emerging Markets
Everyone loves a digital finance success story - but what happens when a firm's dominance gets out of hand? That's the issue in many emerging economies, where powerful players and extreme consolidation have raised the risk of abuses of market power. Simone di Castri and Ariadne Plaitakis of BFA suggest four ways policymakers and regulators can level the playing field.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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