-
Banking for All – Drive to ensure world’s poor have access to accounts
For banks, there is the chance to harvest the deposits of millions of new customers and establish a presence in small but fast-growing markets.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Breaking Down Development Myths: Metrics and data demolishing poverty misconceptions
As you might have seen, Bill and Melinda Gates recently released the 2014 edition of their annual Letter. This year, the theme of the correspondence was ‘Mythbusters’ – tackling the misconceptions and beliefs about development in the most powerful way possible: with data and real evidence.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
NexThought Monday – Money Stories: What if financial products could accommodate the tales we tell ourselves?
We constantly create stories about ourselves and our experiences to help us make sense of the world. These stories even help us manage our finances. But by and large, financial institutions haven’t leveraged the power of users’ stories, and this contributes to some of the challenges they’ve faced in serving low-income customers.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Banking by Boat Spells New Client Growth for Indonesia’s Bank Rakyat
The absence of cash machines on many of Indonesia’s Spice Islands, where cloves and nutmeg once made sultans and European explorers wealthy, means banking is often done on boats that can carry automated teller machines.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Poor service: Tiny loans are getting more expensive
INTEREST on the minuscule loans made by microfinance outfits has always been high, but over the past few years it has become even higher. A recent paper, using data on over 1,500 microfinance institutions (MFIs) from around the world, shows that for the smallest loans, typically less than $150, the average rate climbed steadily from 30% in 2004 to 35% in 2011.*
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Myanmar gets first national mobile money service
Myanmar Mobile Money has launched a range of services including P2P funds transfer via mobile phones as it seeks to exploit what is a prime market with an underdeveloped financial sector.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
In India, Nachiket Mor defends the need for specialized banks
Nachiket Mor, Chairman of the RBI's committee on financial inclusion, strongly defended the need to have specialised banks compared to new full service banks. He said that the idea of financial inclusion will be better served in the medium term if specialised banks such as payments only banks and lending only banks are allowed to flourish.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
OPINION: Branches Will Never Result In 100% Financial Inclusion in India
India has just 110 branches per million persons, compared with the USA which has more than 300 branches per million persons, and Spain which has an incredible 900 branches per million persons, with the next nearest in the EU being Italy with 650/mm.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.