Lipa Later, a Kenyan financial technology (fintech) firm active in four countries, has partnered with US-based Mastercard to expand its merchant network and technological infrastructure in support of the “buy now-pay later” options that it offers online and in-store consumers. According to
Tag: Mastercard
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard, Vodafone Fiji Partner to Provide Debit Cards to Mobile Money Users
Mastercard, a US-based financial services corporation, and Vodafone Fiji, an affiliate of the UK-based communications services provider Vodafone Group, have collaborated to launch the M-PAiSA Mastercard, which will give users of Vodafone Fiji’s M-PAiSA mobile money app the ability to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 24 Education Technology Startups in Kenya, Nigeria Joining Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship
The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently announced that 24 educational technology (edtech) startups in Kenya and Nigeria have joined the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship program, which promotes “technology in learning and teaching to benefit learners, education and edtech innovators across the continent” of Africa. The Kenyan inductees are listed at:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Baab Mobile Money App Combines Cryptocurrency, Traditional Financial Accounts
UK-based Babb Group recently launched its eponymous mobile money app, which offers money transfers as well as the option to store funds as “decentralized crypto, backed stable-coins, and regulated fiat money” and convert among these options. Babb’s Currency X is one such “stable coin,” which is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) to Offer Fintechs in Kenya Access to Mastercard Payment Cards
Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), a Kenya-based institution serving four countries in Africa, recently expanded its partnership with US-based payment processing corporation Mastercard, which will enable
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Copal App to Help Parents, Youth in Egypt to Manage Finances via Mastercard Payment Network
Copal, an Egypt-based financial technology (fintech) firm, recently entered a partnership with US-based payment processing corporation Mastercard to launch an app that helps families in Egypt to make payments and otherwise manage their finances. Plans for the app include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC to Support Mastercard Community Pass Program to Expand Access to Digital Services in Africa, India
The International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is backed by the US government, recently agreed to collaborate with the US-based financial technology firm Mastercard to strengthen Mastercard’s Community Pass program. Community Pass supports digital connectivity, smartphone penetration and identification systems in rural parts of India, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. DFC has agreed to invest up to USD 50 million in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Prophius, Mastercard Enable SMEs in Africa to Accept “Tap-on-phone” Payments
Prophius, a Nigeria-based financial technology (fintech) firm, recently entered a partnership with US-based technology provider Mastercard, to equip its PayContactless service to allow its users to accept payments on their Android mobile phones from customers’ payment cards, e-wallets and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: GCS International, Mastercard Target Unbanked in Jamaica with Mobile Wallets, Payment Cards
GCS International, a financial technology (fintech) firm based in the Dominican Republic, and Mastercard, a US-based payment technology firm, recently announced the implementation in Jamaica of their partnership “to develop and deliver digital payments solutions to underserved consumers across the Caribbean.” Using their work in the Dominican Republic as a model, the partners will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: HDFC Bank to Lend $100m to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in India – Half Led by Women – with Support from DFC, Mastercard, USAID
HDFC Bank, an affiliate of India’s Housing Development Finance Corporation, recently agreed to lend USD 100 million to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India to support their usage of digital payments, including to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. Half of the credit facility is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Common Cents Lab, IDB, Mastercard, MercadoLibre Harnessing Behavioral Economics, Technology in Effort to Bolster Financial Stability of Entrepreneurs, SMEs in Latin America
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a multilateral financial institution that promotes economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean, recently partnered with US-based Common Cents Lab, US-based financial services company Mastercard and Argentina-based e-retailer MercadoLibre on a program intended to improve the ability of entrepreneurs as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) “to prepare for, deal with and recover later from economic shocks.” Over two years, the partners will design and test “behavioral-informed interventions,” such as reminders, deadlines or social pressure, “within the MercadoLibre platform and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BancoSol Adds “GanaSol” Game to Mobile App to Incentivize Financial Services Usage in Bolivia
Banco Solidario (BancoSol), a Bolivian commercial bank that primarily offers microfinance services, recently upgraded its mobile app to include “gamified” software intended to boost its customers’ usage of mobile banking. GanaSol allows users to earn points by “maintaining or increasing their savings account balances;” the points can
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Iraq, Mastercard Seek to Boost Digital Payments, Financial Inclusion
Mastercard, a US-based financial services company, recently entered a partnership with the Central Bank of Iraq to expand Iraq’s digital finance ecosystem with the aims of furthering financial inclusion, moving toward a cashless society and promoting socio-economic development in general. The effort will begin by digitizing tuition payments before expanding to address consumer spending, government collections and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard Buying 3.8% Equity Stake in Mobile Money Unit of Airtel Africa for $100m
Mastercard, a US-based financial services company, recently agreed to pay USD 100 million for a 3.75-percent equity stake in Airtel Mobile Commerce, a subsidiary of the telecommunications company Airtel Africa that uses the trade name Airtel Money. Mastercard and Airtel Money plan to deepen their ongoing partnership in the areas of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard, Razorpay to Increase Access to Recurring Payments for Startups, SMEs in India
US-based company Mastercard and India-based financial technology firm (fintech) Razorpay recently partnered to increase access to mobile payments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India. The partnership will combine “Razorpay’s payment processing capabilities with Mastercard’s trusted and secure dig
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintechs Carticard, egabi, Mastercard Partner to Offer Microloans via Payment Cards in Egypt
Carticard, an affiliate of Egypt-based online business solutions platform egabi, recently partnered with Mastercard, a US-based payments technology company, through which Carticard will issue loans via Mastercard payment cards. This will increase to 400,000 the number of payment cards
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Juvo, Mastercard to Promote Alternative Credit Scoring Platform to Microfinance Institutions, Banks in Latin America, Caribbean
Juvo, a US-based financial technology (fintech) startup that uses transaction data analysis to create credit profiles for individuals in emerging markets, recently partnered with Mastercard to distribute its Financial Identity as a Service (FiDaaS) platform to financial services providers in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). For people without traditional credit histories, the FiDaaS platform uses
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Mastercard Partner on E-money, Payment Cards, Islamic Fintech, Mentoring, Technology Training for Girls
The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), a government-controlled entity, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Mastercard, a US-based payments company, to “facilitate the rollout of Mastercard payments and business technologies” in Malaysia. The goals of the agreement include to: