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Super Platforms in Africa: Not if, but When
Imagine low-income, rural entrepreneurs throughout Africa actively leveraging super platforms like Facebook and Alibaba to conduct all their business interactions, from customer payments to orders from suppliers. This scenario isn't that far-fetched, says BFA's Yanina Seltzer. She explains why the march of the super platforms into Africa is inevitable – and what it will mean for financial services providers, regulators, and small and medium enterprises.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
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Airbnb is Just the Beginning: The Sharing Economy Comes to Emerging Markets
The "sharing economy" is a buzzworthy new industry with platform provider revenues of $18.6 billion – a number that’s predicted to double by 2022 – and a user base that's expected to increase to 86.5 million by 2021. But what is its potential impact on emerging markets? NextBillion spoke with Airbnb's Shawn Sullivan and sharing economy expert April Rinne about how the nascent industry could impact low-income communities – including through an intriguing variation on Airbnb's home-sharing model.
- Categories
- Technology
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2017 not rosy for mobile cash in Kenya
“Months of political uncertainty affected economic activity. Many sectors did less business than usual which translated into decelerated growth in payment channels in general,” said Mr Stephen Nduati, former head of national payment systems at the CBK, who now works as an independent consultant on mobile money in Kenya.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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India’s mobile wallet companies feel the pinch of full know-your-customer guidelines
The Payments Council of India, a lobby group for mobile wallet companies, has asked the Reserve Bank of India to withdraw full know-your-customer requirements for them, claiming they would otherwise lose customers.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Google’s Tez payments app now lets users handle their utility bills and more
Google’s Tez payment service in India has gotten a major update that allows users to pay their utilities and other bills via the app.
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- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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India Posts’ payments bank to begin operations from April
India Posts Payments Bank (IPPB) is all set to roll out operations on a pan-India level from April this year, which will also include digital transactions.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Tanzanian Government Ponders Harmonization of Mobile Money Transactions
The government now wants all telecommunication companies to register their mobile money transactions with the National Switch as it seeks to rollout interoperability across all operators.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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What’s Driving India’s Fintech Boom?
An explosion of smartphone users and a world-class digital infrastructure are fueling the rapid growth of fintech in India. But innovating for low-income groups remains a challenge.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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