-
Viewpoint: Women’s Financial Inclusion Needs a Bigger Fix Than Digital IDs
Until governments and banks tackle issues such as corruption, low informal sector wages and female illiteracy, digital ID systems like Aadhaar will do little to improve the financial inclusion of poor women in India, says economist Debdatta Saha.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
-
Digital transactions on the rise in India – but fall drastically short of 25-billion target
Only about 14.8 billion digital transactions were undertaken across India from April 1 to January 28, show data sourced from the ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY). This includes bank-to-bank electronic money transfers, digital wallet payments, Aadhaar-based and electronic toll payments.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
-
Malware threatens India’s mobile banking revolution
Digital transactions, currently running around 900 billion rupees ($14 billion) a month, are a tempting target for cyberthieves, who have created malware targeting digital banking customers.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
-
Expanding Financial Access Means Expanding Security – How ‘Tokenization’ Could Be the Key
When Experian was hacked last fall, the breach exposed the social security numbers of 143 million people in the U.S. Shortly thereafter, in South Africa, approximately 30 million citizens' identity numbers and financial information were hacked and leaked on the internet. As more people in emerging economies are equipped with personal identification numbers for digital financial services, the need for securing sensitive data grows exponentially. Suresh Rajagopalan of FSS touts tokenization as a remedy – and outlines some challenges it presents.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Has global development reached ‘peak blockchain hype?’
More than simply providing digital identification documents, the system seeks to bring the population out of financial exclusion and address the challenges of the statelessness they face between the bouts of repression that gain international attention, said Noor, who teaches bitcoin mining and trading to Rohingya diaspora.
- Categories
- Technology
-
Here’s how Aadhaar program is helping empower women in India
According to a Livemint report, all homes in the western state of Rajasthan have at least one bank account virtually, and most have several, since the introduction of the Aadhaar program.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
-
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
-
Shanghai subway to use Alibaba voice and facial recognition systems in AI push
The subway system in the Chinese city of Shanghai will bring in voice and facial recognition technologies developed by e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding as it looks to make life easier for the millions of commuters on one of the longest and busiest mass-transit railway networks on the planet.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.