PayMate, an Indian mobile payments company, and IFMR Rural Finance, an operating model of the Indian Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Trust, recently announced an agreement to launch a suite of financial inclusion projects through IFMR’s local financial institutions (LFIs) Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS). Continue Reading »

As part of a series on branchless banking around the world, a post was recently published on the CGAP Technology Blog, a website operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), covering regulatory developments in the Mexican microfinance sector. Continue Reading »

The CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), recently posted an article by Ignacio Mas of the US-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that examines the role that mobile phones can play in facilitating broader financial inclusion by delivering savings, payment and budgeting services. Continue Reading »

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral finance institution that operates in Latin America and the Caribbean; Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), an autonomous fund administered by IDB; Andean Development Corporation (CAF, in Spanish), a multilateral financial institution based in Venezuela; and Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), an organization representing approximately 750 cell phone operators, have issued a call for proposals as part of the launch of the second Technologies for Financial Inclusion Program [1]. Continue Reading »

The Central Bank of Afghanistan has issued an electronic money institution (EMI) license to M-Paisa, a mobile technology platform that provides financial services targeted at those without access to banking. Continue Reading »

Mercy Corps, a US-based relief and development nonprofit, has announced plans to fund a USD 1 million partnership with BPI Globe BanKO, a savings bank in the Philippines, to expand the uptake of mobile banking services. Continue Reading »

Ignacio Mas, Senior Advisor to the Financial Services for the Poor Initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and John Staley, Director of Finance and Shared Services at Equity Bank of Kenya, recently posted an entry on the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) blog titled “Are We Serious About Financial Inclusion for All?” [1]. Mr Mas and Mr Staley highlight the importance of increasing access to financial services in developing countries and outline their four suggestions for regulators and financial service providers to advance financial inclusion. Continue Reading »

To commemorate Earth Day on April 22, 2011, online microfinance intermediary Kiva announced the introduction of “Green Loans” to provide opportunities for individuals to lend as little as USD 25 to businesses and individuals looking to fund clean energy efforts [1]. Continue Reading »

By Sachin Sondhi, Sandip Biswas, Gaurav Gupta, Prakash Bharwani; published by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Private Limited; January 2011; 68 pages; available at https://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-India/Local%20Assets/Documents/Deloitte_ASSOCHAM_MVAS_Study.pdf. Continue Reading »

TransferTo, a Singapore-based company that operates a global airtime transfer network, has signed agreements with three telecommunication service providers in the Asia-Pacific region targeted at customers living abroad who wish to send wireless recharge in real-time to relatives located in their home countries. Continue Reading »

The World Bank Group, a Washington, DC-based group of five institutions with a mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in the developing world, has published a book titled “Protecting Mobile Money Against Financial Crimes”. The book was written as a guide to delivering mobile banking services to unbanked customers in rural areas [1]. Based on fieldwork in eight markets including Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines and Zambia and research in more than ten countries, the book suggests approaches to mitigate the risks associated with mobile money [1]. Continue Reading »

Event Name: AITEC Banking & Mobile Money West Africa

Event Date: June 8 – June 9, 2011

Event Location: Accra, Ghana Continue Reading »

PlaNet Finance, a France-based non-governmental organization (NGO) with the mission of developing microfinance, and Oliver Wyman, a US-based management consulting company, have published a joint report exploring the ability of mobile technology to provide access to a wide range of financial products beyond simple mobile payments. Sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a US-based private foundation, the report examines distribution strategies and “second-generation” mobile microfinance products piloted in West Africa and Southeast Asia. Continue Reading »

Kredits, a US-based company that specializes in microfinance technology solutions, recently announced that it received an investment of USD 4.5 million from Danish investment vehicle, Sophia, to develop unspecified new technologies for the microfinance sector and expand its global presence. Don Eggert, CEO and co-founder of Kredits expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership with Sophia, saying, “We are excited about our partnership with Shailendra Robin Patel, founder of Sophia ApS, who helped build Saxo Bank into one of the world’s leading online financial institutions. Continue Reading »

The website Savings-Revolution.org, which is a redesign of the website www.nextmf.org, focused on community-managed, savings-led microfinance. The site is intended to serve as a one-stop resource for alternatives to traditional microfinance [1]. Continue Reading »

Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory organization of the Indian microfinance sector, is collaborating with High Mark Credit Information Services Limited, a private credit reporting agency based in India, to establish a tracking system to share client data among MFIN members. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Mobile Payments & NFC (Near Field Communications) Asia 2011

Event Date: July 13 – July 14, 2011, with a post-conference workshop on July 15, 2011

Event Location: Eaton Smart Hotel, Hong Kong Continue Reading »

The Microcredit Summit Campaign, a project that was launched in 1997 by US-based nonprofit advocacy group RESULTS Educational Fund (REF), recently released the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2011, a plenary account of the recent trends, challenges and achievements in the microfinance industry, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The report indicated that 128 million poor people received microloans in 2009, more than was recorded in any of the organization’s previous reports. In 1997, 7.6 million were estimated to have received microloans. Continue Reading »