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Is Financial Inclusion Stalling? The 2017 Findex Results Raise Several Red Flags
The Global Financial Inclusion Database (Findex) - one of the most authoritative yardsticks on the state of financial inclusion - finds that 69 percent of the world’s adults now have bank or mobile money accounts. But while that's an exciting headline, it's also misleading, as millions of those newly opened accounts are lying dormant. And that's just one reason why industry stakeholders have found the latest Findex data underwhelming. Elisabeth Rhyne and Sonja Kelly at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion unpack some of the troubling stats – and highlight a few bright spots.
- Categories
- Finance
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Almost half of the world’s population still doesn’t use a bank account
The World Bank recently released data on the state of global financial inclusion, and the results are eye-opening.
- Categories
- Finance
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MTN Uganda Under Fire Over Mobile Money Transaction Reversal
The leaders of the campaign say they are entering a new phase after an elapsed deadline for MTN Uganda to commit to an open, transparent and constructive dialogue on how to put in place measures on mobile money reversals.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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MTN Ghana makes history with first mobile money-based IPO
The IPO is the largest ever undertaken by the country and if successful could set the stage for other companies to test the market.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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WhatsApp Hastens Payments Push for 200 Million Indians
“WhatsApp has a great starting point: a monopoly in chat,” said Vivek Belgavi, leader for financial technology at PwC India. “High engagement makes it a credible competition.”
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- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Kenya moves to regulate fintech-fuelled lending craze
“We have a lot of predatory lending out here, which we want to regulate,” Geoffrey Mwau, director general of budget, fiscal and economic affairs at the treasury, told reporters on Thursday.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Retail giant launches mobile money in South Africa
Shoprite is one of the largest retail chains in South Africa and on the African continent.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Why China’s Payment Apps Give U.S. Bankers Nightmares
The future of consumer payments may not be designed in New York or London but in China. There, money flows mainly through a pair of digital ecosystems that blend social media, commerce and banking—all run by two of the world’s most valuable companies.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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