-
Findex: Sub-Saharan Africa Continues to Be the Leading Frontier of Financial Inclusion
Half of the world's population lives and works in the informal economy - not by choice, but by necessity. In the language of economists, poor families in developing countries are consumption-smoothing households and capital-consuming, self-employed entrepreneurs at the same time. As a result, they need a broader range of financial services to manage inevitably irregular income and expense spikes, accumulate working capital, build assets, and mitigate risks. Lacking better alternatives, they often resort to informal financial mechanisms, such as moneylenders, pawnbrokers, and rotating savings clubs, which can be very unreliable and expensive.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Ripple scores $28 million funding round
Digital currency outfit Ripple Labs has closed a $28 million Series A funding round that includes IDG Capital Partners and the venture arms of CME Group and global data storage company Seagate Technology.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Money Keeps Moving Toward Somalia, Sometimes In Suitcases
Some financial companies in the U.S. resort to carrying cash on airplanes to keep remittances flowing to needy Somalis.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Money Order Service Not Discontinued, Says India’s Department of Post
The Money Order service, the old and trusted mode of remittance, was very much available, the Department of Post today said, strongly refuting the reports otherwise.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- remittances
-
How NGOs Can Help Unleash Cuban Remittances
Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean set a new record high last year, at a total of $65.4 billion, the Inter-American Development Bank revealed Tuesday.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
-
In Africa, Mobile Money Is on the Move
Moving money across African borders with the click of a cellphone button just keeps getting easier. The mobile money revolution – essentially the use of cellphones to access financial services – is already transforming the face of financial inclusion on the continent.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
What a Western Union, MoneyGram Merger Would Mean to Africa
Shares in MoneyGram International, one of the largest money transfer firm s in the world, rallied as much as 41 percent after Bloomberg, citing sources close to the deal, reported that the industry leader Western Union was in “early stage” talks to acquire MoneyGram.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
How Mobile Money Is Saving Africa $2bn Annually
Mobile phones have proven to be potential game-changers inboosting access to financial products and services to people in Africa. This is particularly true for those at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid as seen in East Africa. It has often been appraised based on its contribution to ‘banking the unbanked’, but mobile money has achieved much more, it has saved the continentnearly $2 billion previously lost annually to inefficient money transfer.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa