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Airtime to the Rescue: Why India Should Mobilize Telcos for Disaster Relief
Last April, when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook Nepal, telcos offered free mobile airtime for 48 hours to their customers based in India, so they could connect with their family members and friends in Nepal. This example illustrates the potential of utilizing the payments infrastructure to respond to natural disasters. I believe this potential could be more fully realized by channeling relief and rehabilitation funds to disaster victims using airtime as currency – and India is the ideal proving ground for the concept.
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Consuelo Offers Blockchain-Powered Microinsurance to Migrant Workers
Bitcoin and blockchain technology have the ability to bring financial services to the unbankedthat otherwise would be unavailable to them. Mexican mobile payments platform Saldo.mxallows to pay for their loved ones’ utility bills across borders. Saldo recently debuted a microinsurance service, Consuelo, to allow users to easily use a fixed health and life insurancepolicy.
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- Technology
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- digital payments, fintech
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Grameen Foundation and ideas42 Launch Partnership to Expand Financial Inclusion in the Philippines
Grameen Foundation and ideas42 yesterday launched a new partnership to support financial inclusion in the Philippines using principles from behavioral science and innovations in digital financial services using mobile phones. The initiative, funded by JPMorgan Chase Foundation, aims to reach thousands of people identified in the low-income bracket throughout the country.
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- Asia Pacific
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Pro-Women, Anti-Cash: How Cashless Economies Can Boost Women’s Empowerment
We are still a long way from a world where cash is obsolete – in fact, 85 percent of consumer transactions are still conducted in cash, and for many people, hard currency clearly remains a useful commodity. But the landscape is changing rapidly, and for the world’s poorest and most excluded communities – and for women in particular – the drive towards cashless economies offers an exciting window of opportunity.
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Paytm Launches Wi-Fi Pilot in India; Enables Free Internet for a Limited Duration
Underlining its digital-first approach, Paytm, India’s largest mobile payments and commerce platform, has announced the launch of its ambitious pilot project to enable seamless internet connectivity for users. Under this initiative, Paytm is enabling limited-duration free Wi-Fi for its users in partnership with a licensed ISP. The first such Wi-Fi initiative is already underway near the Noida-18 metro station in partnership with a licensed ISP.
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- Technology
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- South Asia
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Easypaisa, Nestle Collaborate to Facilitate Dairy Farmer Payments in Pakistan
Providing financial access to thousands of Pakistani dairy farmers as part of its mission of empowering societies, Easypaisa has collaborated with Nestlé Pakistan to make disbursement of milk collection payments swift, easy, and transparent.
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- Technology
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- North Africa & Near East
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Bharti Airtel-Kotak Mahindra Bank JV Gets Payment Bank License From RBI
India's largest carrier Bharti AirtelBSE 4.20 % received its payment bank license that is had applied for in partnership with Kotak Mahindra Bank, a move that will help the companies take Indian government's financial inclusion plans to the next level.
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- South Asia
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Can Bitcoin Be Used for Good?
Something strange is happening to Bitcoin. Once viewed as a way to do business in the darkest corners of the web, the digital currency has rather suddenly become a favorite talking point among humanitarians and international development enthusiasts.
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