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Viewpoint: Unified Payment Interface Will Be the Next Big Thing in Mobile Banking in India
Mobile payments just got a leg-up, thanks to the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), probably the only app of its kind in the world. Virtual wallet services have been around for a while now. UPI goes a step further and allows you to make payments by simply entering the payee's virtual ID on your smartphone and feeding the PIN the app requests. The money is debited directly from your account and transferred to the payee in a matter of minutes, without you having to provide either your bank details or the payee's bank IFSC code. In a few simple steps you can make transactions worth up to a lakh. The app on your phone need not be of the bank you hold your account in, but of any bank whose user experience you prefer. The same goes for the payee. But the transactions still take place between the underlying banks, without you even knowing about it. No need to worry about your credit card details being compromised.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Samsung Pay Strikes Partnership With Chinese Online Payment Giant Alipay
Samsung announced today that it has cemented a deal that will make Alipay, China’s largest online payments platform, available through Samsung Pay.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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United Nations study finds digital payments to Ebola response workers saved lives and $10 million
By using digital payments to pay Ebola response workers, Sierra Leone massively cut payment times, avoiding large-scale strikes and ensuring a stable workforce to defeat Ebola.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Why M-Pesa Failed in South Africa
South Africa's largest mobile phone operator Vodacom has announced it will be scrapping its M-Pesa mobile money transfer system in Africa's second-biggest economy.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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PayPal Will No Longer Protect Your Crowdfunding Cash
PayPal is changing its purchase protection rules to reflect increasing risks associated with crowdfunding. The new language, which will go into effect in June, state that “payments on crowdfunding platforms” will no longer be eligible for Purchase Protection.
- Categories
- Investing
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E-wallet Companies Struggle in India, as Initial Euphoria Dies Down
After a flurry of activity with almost two dozen companies launching prepaid wallets in the last couple of years, the initial euphoria around wallets may be dying down. Many players — with the exception of dominant Paytm or -owned Freecharge — concede that the numbers of wallet users is stagnating and companies are struggling to get existing users to transact more using their digital money.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Tanzania’s State-Run Telco Ventures Into Mobile Money
The State-run Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) is now venturing into mobile money transfer services as it seeks to enter the competitive market that already has four players.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Why Cash Will Remain King, Even in the Promised Land of Digital Money
If you talk to tech companies, telecom companies, and even some NGOs, they will tell you that the future of money in Africa is based on technology.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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