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Paper: Digital Finance Interoperability & Financial Inclusion
Interoperability—the ability for different systems to connect with one another—is attracting a lot of attention among digital finance experts. Interoperable payment systems have the potential to make it easier for people to send payments to anyone and receive payments from anyone quickly and cheaply. Financial service providers welcome the new business opportunities that would emerge from this higher volume of transactions, and policy makers see interoperability as a means to bring more poor people into the financial system, thus fostering financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Technology
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Wari And Mastercard Partner to Deliver Digital Payment Solutions In 35 African Markets
Wari and Mastercard signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement that will help strengthen the Wari offering for its users but also the digital payment ecosystem in 35 African markets.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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IFC to lend $100m to Indonesian bank BTPN
Indonesia’s Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN) will receive $100 million in loans from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), according to a filing. The loans will be used to fund the growth of BTPN’s micro, small and medium enterprises businesses (MSMEs). It will also be channeled to women borrowers.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments
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Kenyan Banks Are Closing in on What They Think Will Be the Perfect M-Pesa Disruptor
Early next year, Kenyan banks are expected to unveil a digital and mobile money transfer platform to rival M-Pesa’s longstanding dominance as the scramble for cashless payments intensifies.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Amazon Launches Amazon Pay Balance in Bid to Increase Cashless Transactions in India
Amazon India on Friday launched its online wallet Amazon Pay Balance, in a bid to increase cashless orders.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Digital Payment Startups in India Unaware of High Security Risks
As India embraces a cashless economy, there has been a sudden spurt in new mobile wallet companies — but most of these start-ups are setting up digital shops without knowing the cyber risks involved, a top executive from US-based cyber security firm FireEye has emphasised.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Demonetisation: How to Get Cash-Stuck Microfinance Institutions Digitally Ready in India
The overnight demonetisation of R500 and R1,000 currency notes shook the entire Indian economy, for good or bad is yet uncertain. An estimated 85% of the value of currency has ceased to be a legal tender and the release of the new currency has been rationed for the next few months. Such a move from the government will most likely put a check on black money circulation in medium- to long-term, however, it will also impact businesses in the short-run given the fact that more than 90% of the consumer payments in India still happen in cash. The move is also expected to be a boon for digital financial services ecosystem in India. While the penetration of digital payments infrastructure has rapidly increased in the last two years, the value of consumer payments that happen through cards or other digital means in India is still far behind some of the other comparable economies. The point-of-sale terminals per 100,000 debits cards are lower in India compared to other BRIC nations (India-2; Russia-6.1; China-12.5; Brazil-14.8).
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Can Only Love for Our Postman Ensure Success for India Post Payments Bank?
People have been waiting eagerly for the launch of the India Post Payments Bank or IPPB, the largest among the eight that are likely to start operations over the next few months. Eleven entities received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) in-principle approval for floating payments banks but three of them have left the field.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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