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Exclusive: Kenya’s Safaricom taking M-Pesa to Ethiopia, sources say
M-Pesa could transform Ethiopia’s economy, as it has done in Kenya, by allowing people to sidestep a decrepit and inefficient banking system and send each other money and make payments at the touch of a button.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Uganda drops some mobile money taxes
Uganda's Cabinet, despite having been previously divided on the charges, on Monday agreed to remove some of the fees and revised the 1 per cent tax on withdrawals to 0.5 per cent.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Alibaba’s Ant Financial Just Launched a Blockchain-based Remittance Service
Ant Financial, Alibaba’s $150 billion financial affiliate, launched a blockchain-based service that lets Hong Kong’s large Filipino working population send funds to family back home quickly and securely.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Ant Financial sees huge growth for cashless payments in South America, Africa
Over the past three years Ant Financial, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding has done nine partnerships. Within Asia, Ant Financial has forged partnerships with local companies in South Korea, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong, Man said, adding that the company will continue to expand its footprint in the region.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Ugandan Government Reviewing Controversial Mobile Money Tax, says PM Rugunda
"Government is now reviewing the taxes taking into consideration the concerns of the public" and an amended bill will be debated on July 19, said Rugunda.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Don’t Throw the Banks Out with the Bathwater: Why the 2017 Findex Shows Opportunity for Microfinance Institutions
The World Bank's most recent Global Findex report has cast significant doubt on the lofty goal of universal financial access by 2020. Signs point to the slowing of financial inclusion in many places, raising questions as to how regulated microfinance institutions should respond to the emergence of mobile money and other fintech disruptors. After examining the numbers, here’s why Scott Graham of FINCA International argues that traditional banks still serve a vital purpose.
- Categories
- Finance
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Controversy over Uganda mobile money taxes
As it stands, the introduction of the tax has caused confusion, especially over mobile money transactions.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A two-day crash in Zimbabwe’s mobile money system shows the vulnerabilities of going cashless
Although mobile money has become the leading transaction platform in Zimbabwe, its weaknesses came into focus this week after the dominant EcoCash network in Zimbabwe went down for two days, and left many consumer businesses floundering in an already difficult economy.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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