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The Tortoise and the Hare: India and China Put Different Paths to Digital Finance to the Test
In 2016, some US$18 trillion changed hands via non-bank digital payment transactions in China – a value larger than its GDP. Meanwhile, though its population is roughly the same, India's digital finance industry has lagged far behind. But thanks to new digital infrastructure and evolving regulations, this situation is changing fast. Like the tortoise in Aesop’s fable, will India catch up with China, which has bounded ahead at hare-like speed? David Porteous at the Digital Frontiers Institute explores the two countries' approaches and their implications for other emerging markets.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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To sell payment services in rural India, MoneyOnMobile borrows a U.S. model
In India, tens of millions of merchants still operate largely in cash with a mostly unbanked rural population. Technology could solve their problems, but the bigger differentiator may be in how payment services are sold.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Grab, Uber’s Southeast Asia rival, now offers micro-loans and other financial services
The Singapore-based company has been pushing itself into fintech for some time, with the most visible moment being the launch of its mobile payments service last November. Today, it extended that further still by introducing micro-loans and insurance options for Grab drivers and businesses that use its GrabPay services.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Mastercard Targets Emerging Markets With Mobile-Payments Acquisition
More than 80% of the world's purchases are still made using cash. Mastercard thinks mobile payments technology might hold the answer to digitizing those transactions.
- Categories
- Finance
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MTN targets mobile money comeback in South Africa
In comments cited by South African newspaper Business Day, MTN CEO Rob Shuter revealed the company is building new products around financial services including loan offers, investment products and insurance, as it looks to boost its offering in the segment and attract customers in South Africa.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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With revamped T-kash, Telkom Kenya aims to challenge Safaricom’s dominance
Telkom Kenya relaunched a mobile financial services platform on Monday that it hopes can challenge Safaricom’s dominance of Kenya’s lucrative mobile money market.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How immigrants are driving digital transformation of U.S. remittances
There are about 43.7 million immigrants in the United States, and remittances sent from here by foreign-born immigrants rose to $66 billion from $50 billion over the past five years, according to the World Bank.
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- Finance
- Region
- North America
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India’s Little Shops Are a Massive Banking Network in the Making
Indians who still rely on cash are a ready-made financial-services market and a lucrative sideline for the corner store.
- Region
- South Asia
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