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Fintech companies take on banks, telcos with big data arsenal in Africa
Developing markets such as Kenya do not yet have the levels of Internet penetration and e-commerce sophistication to attract these online giants turned fintech entrepreneurs. At the same time, a stable of local fintech companies are sprouting and they are expected to mature as fast Internet becomes more affordable and as Kenyans embrace shopping and banking online.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Hike beats WhatsApp to launching messenger app payments in India
Hike, which is introducing version 5.0 today, is starting out with peer-to-peer and bank-to-bank payment options, the former being an in-app wallet that is not dependent on a bank account and the latter a service powered by India’s government-backed UPI payment system. Beyond sending cash to each other, Hike has also introduce a ‘blue packet’ feature that lets users gift digital envelopes of cash for special occasions, such as birthdays.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Why cross-border payments are the next innovation frontier
Market analysts have predicted that cross-border payments are the next frontier where innovative technologies will challenge the existing expensive, clunky business models.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Android Pay now used for international P2P transfers, courtesy of WorldRemit
This is a first for Android Pay, which up to now has been used for in-app and contactless payments and to make P2P transfers to people in the same country, but never international P2P money transfers.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion, Technology
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Naspers pours $5M into Coins, a fintech startup for Southeast Asia’s unbanked population
Coins is focused on offering financial services for the unbanked in the Philippines and Thailand. It uses the blockchain as its underlying technology to facilitate transfers and remittances. It announced the new funding — which comes via the Naspers Ventures division — as an extension to the $5 million Series A round that it closed last October.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Bank cards show resilience in Kenya despite mobile money dominance
Mobile money has for the last years stifled the growth of plastic money, with many pointing to the death of the cards but new data from Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) showed Wednesday that the latter is in Kenya to stay, the onslaught notwithstanding.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Five countries to watch for e-payments
A study shows that 34% of Europeans and 38% of Americans would be willing to go cash-free if they could, Reuters reported. In Asia, China is an early adopter of digital payments, with 95% of Chinese using smartphones and mobile wallets to pay for goods and services.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Digital payments is India’s new currency
Digital transactions have trebled and quadrupled in volume and value across various modes from wallets to cards and interbank transfers from a year earlier. Card transactions at point of sale (PoS) terminals at merchant locations have surged, reflecting a positive for the economy as more people start using their de bit cards for payments rather than for withdrawing cash at ATMs.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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