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‘Cash Burns Your Pocket’: New World Bank, Gates report finds mobile payments vital to G20 goals
Just 41 percent of adults in developing economies have a bank account - a problem that G20 nations are increasingly focused on. To that end, this week the Gates Foundation, the Better than Cash Alliance and the World Bank released a report on the potential of digital payments to advance financial inclusion - and the challenges that must be addressed.
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The Financial Inclusion Game Changer
Today, MasterCard is launching a ground-breaking program in Nigeria with the cooperation of the Nigerian government. This program uniquely combines a national ID card with electronic payments. Daniel Monehin, MasterCard’s Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa, sat down with MPD CEO Karen Webster to discuss why today is a such significant day in payments for Nigeria and why this program has the potential to be the financial inclusion game changer everywhere in the world.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Rwanda: Microfinance Sector Soldiers On Despite Burden of Bad Loans
Sector experts say there is an urgent need to address challenges facing MFIs, especially by empowering the sector to enhance its capacity and performance.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Indian PM asks banks to make financial inclusion a national priority
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked banks to make the opening of bank accounts in 70 million households this year a national priority.
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- South Asia
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150 Million Bank Accounts – Is That Enough?: Infrastructure is only one part of designing an inclusive financial system in India
Indian prime minister Modi recently announced an ambitious new plan for financial inclusion for all Indians. The plan focuses on the estimated half of the country’s population that does not use a bank, providing them with debit cards and insurance policies (among other things). But IPA points out that creating an inclusive financial system will require more than ATM cards.
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In India, 50% of microfinance institutions could convert to banks, says regulatory body CEO
About half of the Microfinance Institutions Network’s 49 members could follow in the footsteps of Kolkata-based Bandhan and convert themselves into banks in the next couple of years, according to a top official.
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OPINION: Formal employment remains key to financial inclusion in India
We believe the biggest boost to financial inclusion will come from a push to higher employment in the formal sector, especially regular, salaried employment.
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Smart Loan Products, Smarter Lending Approach: Kazakhstan’s Asian Credit Fund serves the country’s financially underserved, rural poor
There’s a dramatic income gap between rich and poor in Kazakhstan. Recognizing this, in recent years Asian Credit Fund (founded in 1997 by Mercy Corps) has been targeting the country’s most remote areas, adapting its products to the rural context, with a sustainable twist.
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