Blog

Selon l’Agence de Développement de l’Union Africaine (AUDA-NEPAD) il y a environ 95 à 100 millions de Micro Petites et Moyennes Entreprises (MPME) sur le continent africain et ce chiffre n'inclut pas les petits exploitants agricoles. Les MPME sont le premier moteur de l'économie africaine toutefois leur accès au financement a toujours été un défi…

  The Association Digital Frontiers Senegal (ADF-SN) developed from DFI’s Senegal Community of Practice (COP) and is the first Francophone digital finance association to be established. The vision of ADF-SN is to be the benchmark association in the field of digital transformation in the next 3 years. An association working with all stakeholders and participating…

This webinar will explore the promise and potential of alternative credit scoring for MSMEs, looking at the gaps in the market, examples of products and the opportunities and challenges. It also raises some of the ethical issues, including bias, privacy and managing risk. Panelists for the webinar include: Islam Zekry, Chief Data Officer at Commercial…

To understand more about the impact on and the role of these providers, CFI, in partnership with the Swiss Capacity Building Facility, conducted research to understand fintechs’ early adaptation and coping models under COVID-19. This brief draws findings from the Inclusive Fintech 50 applicant data coupled with key informant interviews with investors and fintechs conducted in March…

Mobile technology has greatly expanded access to financial services over the last decade, but the range and quality of services available to low-income customers still remains limited. Despite new opportunities, incumbent financial service providers as well as new providers like mobile money operators have shown themselves to be constrained in different ways by legacy business…

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, founders and investors alike wondered what effects it would have on the startup market. How would companies adapt? What effects would the crisis have on operations? And would investors continue to evaluate potential opportunities? Accion has been working to find answers to these questions —and many more — over the…

Following on from the success of our pop-up discussion on what is privacy worth, we are delighted to launch Digital Identity Week, from 1-7 November 2020. Highlights of the week will include daily live discussions led by industry experts and participation in a digital identity case study. Led by David Porteous, Nolwazi Hhlophe, and Sarah…

This blog looks at some of the recommendations put across by MSC on how savings groups can cope with the “new normal life” that has been brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, overcome the economic shocks, and build resilience against similar future pandemics.

In this webinar, Senior CGAP Open API Consultants, Lesley-Ann Vaughan, Paul Reynolds and Aiaze Mitha and Michel Hanouch, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, share their experiences from working with five DFS providers to open APIs over the last three years. The discussions includes insights on the nature of the opportunity, how to get started on this…

Opening banking regimes free up the troves of customer data locked inside banks, allowing competitors to access the information and develop innovative financial products and services that have potential to better meet the needs of poor people. In this webinar, CGAP’s Ariadne Plaitakis presented what types of open banking-enabled products and business models CGAP believes…

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges for governments and citizens around the world, straining health systems, economies, and the very social fabric of nations. This blog explores four potential fallouts of COVID-19 that will create lasting socio-economic impact on women in India and other LMI countries.

This publication summarizes data, research, and policy work by UN Women’s Policy and Programme Division on the pandemic’s impact on women and girls, including the impact on extreme poverty, employment, health, unpaid care, and violence against women and girls. The publication also brings into focus the paucity of gender data and calls for greater investment…

This paper outlines the essential components of communication and outreach programs for both the supply and demand side. It quotes examples from PMKGY, the relief package launched by the Government of India amid the COVID-19 outbreak, to highlight the challenges around communication that recipients and frontline workers faced.

Nations worldwide have responded to COVID-19 through 1,100 social protection programs to help 1.8 billion-plus people. Yet recipients are largely in the dark about the programs and do not know how to access funds. This blog examines the importance of better communication around social protection programs, particularly for the vulnerable population.

Ce webinaire s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une initiative visant à permettre à Digital Frontiers Institute (DFI) d’interagir plus régulièrement avec sa communauté francophone. Ce fut l’occasion pour les trois panélistes invités d’éclairer l’audience sur l’intelligence artificielle, la biométrie, le big data et les défis que ces technologies permettent d’adresser dans l’offre des services financiers en…

Islamic finance is a fast-booming segment of global finance. Serving a core population of 1.8 billion Muslims world-wide and a wider global ethical finance audience, its role is growing in global significance especially as it relates to global social financing needs. The global fintech revolution is having a similar impact for Islamic finance through the…

CGAP’s collection of tools and resources on open APIs. Digital financial services providers will find here information to help them decide whether open APIs make sense for their business and, if so, how to implement an open API strategy. Open APIs can unlock new revenue streams and customer bases for providers while catalyzing a robust,…

This webinar explores the new report, “People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future”, by the UN Secretary-General’s Task Force on Digital Finance. The report sets out an ambitious, practical Action Agenda. Centrally, it spells out how digital finance can be harnessed in ways that empower citizens as tax-payers and investors in envisaging a…

In July 2020, nearly 300 participants from 30 countries joined CGAP workshops to discuss how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting MFPs and their funders, microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), in terms of renegotiating and restructuring debt claims on distressed MFPs. This Briefing touches on the key insights and recommendations that emerged from the workshops. The views…

The White Paper focuses on developing a conceptual framework to explore the pathways linking WEE and DFS in great detail, reviews the current empirical evidence for each of these pathways, identifies challenges observed in interpreting the evidence, and highlights a set of priority questions that cut across the different research areas to be explored in…

This webinar looks at the response to Kenya’s transition to “Huduma Namba” and establishes the need to address exclusion in digital transitions, highlight policy recommendations, and inspire greater use of legal empowerment strategies towards inclusive digital identity in practice. Our two expert panelists leading the webinar are Laura Goodwin,  Director of the Citizenship Program at…

This report was developed for financial inclusion policymakers and payment service regulators, this note proposes policy options and practical actions that can help moving toward developing open and inclusive digital payment infrastructures, while also incentivizing the acceptance and use of digital payments.

This paper states the Bank’s policy for providing settlement services to payment systems, for providing settlement accounts in sterling in the Bank’s Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system and for granting access to intraday liquidity.

Access to finance is a critical barrier for SMEs to start, sustain and grow their businesses.  About half of formal SMEs do not have access to formal credit, and instead rely on internal funds, or cash from friends and family, to launch and initially run their business.  An extensive survey of SMEs in 135 countries…

Annual aggregate data is captured annually for only a minority of the world’s countries by the IMF, OECD and others.  Little if any data is available at country level on financing for women entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs or other key segments of interest to GPFI’s Financial Inclusion Action Plan.  Data collected by the IFIs and DFIs…

The digitalisation of financial products and services, and the consequent need to strengthen digital financial literacy has become an important component of the global policy-making agenda. This guidance aims to identify and promote effective initiatives that enhance digital and financial literacy in light of the unique characteristics, advantages, and risks of digital financial services and…

Aging is a global phenomenon. The number, and the proportion as a share of the population, of older people are both growing rapidly in many developed and developing countries. Other countries will experience such growth in years to come.  The United Nations predicts that, by 2050, there will be over two billion people aged 60 and…

The G20 High-Level Policy Guidelines on Digital Financial Inclusion for Youth, Women and SMEs (HLPGs) provides sets of featured policy options targeting financial inclusion gaps for youth (subject to child protection frameworks where relevant), women and SMEs through digital financial services in order to reach conditions in which all people can live, work and thrive;…

Digital financial services have expanded opportunities for millions of women across the globe. More than 240 million more women now have an account with a financial institution or mobile money service, compared to 2014. Through this increased engagement in the formal economy, women’s resilience to financial, economic and health shocks is improving.  However, there remains…

 This paper on Academia discusses a serious problem confronting Zimbabwe, the savings gap, which essentially means that Zimbabwe as an economy cannot fund economic growth from domestic saving. There is a directly relationship between savings and income. Since savings largely depend on income, the low levels of income in the country translate into low levels of…

The AFI Member network’s knowledge and experience in developing, implementing, and revising National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) have had a significant impact on advancing financial inclusion. In general, NFIS have created enabling environments and the awareness for the deployment of strategic measures driving financial inclusion initiatives with the aim of achieving the specific financial inclusion goals as…

Women’s World Banking have developed four principles to frame their user research with women in low- and middle-income countries, plus tips for putting each principle into practice during research design, implementation, and interpretation.

The objective of this paper is to provide guidance for countries to use in considering key options to mitigate risks associated with data protection and privacy, especially related to alternative data, but not to direct adoption of unduly prescriptive legislative provisions.

Cyber-threats have become a growing concern in emerging financial markets and are weakening consumer trust and confidence in digital financial services. Industry players and governments in emerging markets are becoming aware of the need to develop regulatory frameworks, industry guidance and supervisory processes. However, cybersecurity requires expertise and resources that are often scarce in developing…

Pula, which provides accessible, scalable insurance solutions for smallholder farmers by bundling insurance with the inputs farmers already use including seeds and fertiliser, has produced a new learning report exploring how gender plays a role in registration decisions in East and Southern Africa. The report, co-funded by Shell Foundation and the UK government, uses Pula’s data on…

Le dynamisme du marché de la téléphonie mobile et l’essor d’Internet en Afrique ont ouvert la voie au développement des services de mobile money et à l’émergence des banques digitales et néo-banques dont nous parlons dans notre blog du mois de Septembre . Si ces évolutions attirent l’attention et suscitent l’intérêt de beaucoup d’acteurs en…

As part of its capacity building program, DFI established Communities of Practice (COPs) across cities in Africa and Asia beginning in 2015. These COPs provided space for people to network and share knowledge, experiences and best practice. It brought together a diverse set of individuals from across different parts of the digital finance ecosystem, from commercial…

This chapter of BIO’s digital survey looks at risks digital innovation could pose for financial inclusion.

This chapter of BIO’s digital survey looks at digital products and services in relation to MFIs and commercial banks.

The paper presented by Research Gate tries to understand the challenges that the Microfinance industry is facing during the pandemic, on the supply side, and the dynamics of social relations of the poor in the said bio war on the demand side, and suggest a new social order towards ushering in a resilient ecosystem in…

MicroSave Consulting has issued two case studies concerning Shakti Foundation’s digital initiatives for women. The first case study charts the journey of women clients of Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women toward the adoption of voluntary savings products that ride on digital channels. While the second case study charts how Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women utilized…

Modusbox collaborated with UNCDF Myanmar on a six-month-long interoperability project in Myanmar’s microfinance industry to demonstrate the benefits of interoperable, real-time payments for microfinance customers in Myanmar. Part 1: The Challenges Part 2: Standardizing Digital Loan Repayments Part 3: 5 Takeaways for Banks and Regulators

The Special Report highlights key gender-related issues facing society during the COVID-19 pandemic and some of the specific gender-sensitive financial inclusion responses that policymakers can undertake to ensure their mitigation and recovery activities are fully inclusive and work towards the network’s commitments in the Denarau Action Plan Gender is a cross-cutting theme in all aspects…

In an increasingly digital environment for financial products and services with the potential to support greater financial inclusion and inclusive growth, the need for effective financial consumer protection is more important than ever. At the same time, the policies and approaches developed and adopted by financial consumer protection authorities need to evolve and adapt in…

This month we are featuring a recent CDFP graduate and an award-winning entrepreneur, both of whom are founders of Digital Finance Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe (DPAZ)  – Gerald M. Nyakwawa and Ethel Mupambwa. They are both motivated to impacting lives and bringing greater financial inclusion to Zimbabwe, particularly for women and youth.   Ethel is…

This report shares findings from a client survey in Cambodia on the consumer protection practices of financial service providers. A guidance note is also provided for organizations seeking to conduct similar surveys by IVR.

A decade after the launch of Aadhaar, this webinar looks at a resident’s perspective on India’s national digital ID – in what ways has Aadhaar empowered or excluded them? To what extent do they trust and use the identification system? In which aspects is it serving them well or poorly—or not at all? These are…

Regulatory sandboxes have attracted significant attention for their potential to empower financial regulators struggling with fast-paced innovation. Through a sandbox, regulators can carefully monitor digital products, services and business models in a live testing environment, enabling firms to bring innovations to market more quickly and readily. But when and under what circumstance sandboxes are the…

Tune in to hear the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation (M4H) team discuss key issues with their mobile network operator and humanitarian partners in this podcast series.

How can this digital revolution help us reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals more quickly? One important answer is through digital financial inclusion. Inclusive digital financial services refer to mobile money, online accounts, electronic payments, insurance and credit, combinations of them and newer fintech apps, that reach people who were formerly excluded. Digital financial inclusion,…

Ce webinaire s’inscrit dans le cadre du lancement d’une initiative visant à permettre à Digital Frontiers Institute (DFI) d’interagir plus régulièrement avec sa communauté francophone. Ce fut l’occasion pour les trois panélistes invités d’éclairer l’audience sur les différences entre banques digitales et néo banques ainsi que de mieux comprendre les spécificités de leurs approches commerciales.…

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and PHB have developed a financial literacy training toolkit customized to meet the needs and realities of refugees and refugee hosting communities in Uganda.

Here the Central Bank of Brazil discusses instant payments, highlighting implementation, ecosystem and benefits. Where this paper builds on the discussion, offering guidelines for Brazilian instant payments.

In order to address the systemic as well as the immediate challenges associated with COVID-19, Cenfri and FSD Africa have developed a guidance note, targeted at regulators, financial service providers and market facilitators, that provides clear steps and actions to take in transitioning toward remote identity proofing. The guidance highlights how traditional modalities for customer due diligence…

The GSMA AgriTech’s Digital Agriculture Maps report (DAMs), produced in collaboration with IDH Farmfit, offers a snapshot into the digital agriculture landscape in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). DAMs helps industry practitioners and potential investors understand key trends and emerging opportunities in the sector. It encourages innovation and adoption of best practices to support scalable…

The Connected Society programme works with the mobile industry, tech companies, the development community and governments to increase access to and adoption of the mobile internet, focusing on underserved population groups in developing markets. One of their key activities is to generate and disseminate insights and learnings on the mobile internet coverage and usage gap.

The Global State of Small Business Report, based on the Future of Business Survey, is an ongoing research collaboration by Facebook, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank to survey small and medium-sized businesses around the world over a six-month period in the context of COVID-19. The aim of these…

According to BFA Global’s Catalyst Fund, experts from India and East Africa suggest that fintech startups and digital platforms should consider three additional opportunities: offering additional financial services; supporting skill-building and structured paths to career formalization; and expanding to serve adjacent populations.

By driving significant gains in financial inclusion in recent years we have opened up access, but access alone isn’t enough. Emerging new evidence shines a spotlight on the potential benefits from accessible upskilling to drive more meaningful engagement of financial services and digital platforms across the underserved segments that fuel the economic engines of less-developed…

This paper results from a research project by the EIF on “Measuring Microfinance Impact in the EU. Policy recommendations for Financial and Social Inclusion” (MeMI). The aim of the project is to contribute to the debate whether microfinance is able to deliver the expected impact in terms of financial and social inclusion.

This paper presents CFI’s conceptual framework for understanding MSME financial health along with a survey instrument that measures indicators for each factor in the framework.

The GSMA Mobile Money API is an initiative developed through collaboration between the mobile money industry and the GSMA, aimed at helping the mobile money industry speak the same technical language by providing a modern harmonised API for mobile money transactions and management that is both easy to use and secure.

Green Delta Insurance Company (GDIC), a private non-life insurer in Bangladesh, was founded as a public limited company in December 1985. In 2013, GDIC became the first South Asian insurance company to receive equity investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. GDIC differs from most of Bangladesh’s non-life…

This two-note series from The Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion, highlights the relationship between de-risking, IFFs and capital flows in the context of regional economic hubs. Detailing the concept of a regional economic hub, and exploring the methodologies for determining which countries are hubs within their respective regions.

The biggest challenges in scaling effective financial infrastructures that work for poor people often are not about technology. Instead, they often revolve around questions of ownership, governance, economics, regulation, and political economy. These challenges are not small, but when addressed effectively, a system can emerge that improves the value of financial services for poor people.…

Women’s economic empowerment will be essential for a global economic recovery. Given pre-existing gender gaps, there are concerns about exclusion for many of the social assistance programs already being rolled out around the world. Social protection systems that ignore gender inequality will likely fail to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 for women, and, at worst,…

The Global Microscope for Financial Inclusion, now in its 12th year, is a benchmarking index that assesses the enabling environment for financial access in 55 countries. The 2019 Microscope features 11 new indicators to better assess what governments are doing to address the gender gap in financial inclusion.

FINCA Forward implemented a four-month proof-of-concept (POC) of the Salutat solution in Guatemala to explore if their features could deliver a rich, modernized, and personalized customer experience in which individual needs are known and satisfied. The POC proved that Salutat’s solution had the potential to strengthen engagement with customers.

The GSMA Assistive Tech team, together with Urban Emerge, conducted a landscape study to identify digital solutions emerging from Africa and Asia that are addressing the needs of people with disabilities.

CFI spoke with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) about the explosive growth of digital remittances in recent months, the drive to lower transaction fees, support for scaling digital innovation, and more. This is the second in an occasional series of interviews with professionals from development finance institutions, international financial institutions, and donor agencies…

This case study examines the role of financial institutions in achieving the UN SDGs through socially responsible finance (SRF), a broad range of political and commercial adjustments aimed at ensuring financial systems protect society and the environment.

Like other businesses, FinTechs too have been struggling to cope with the Pandemic. The reports compiled by MicroSave Consulting, highlight the impact of the pandemic on FinTechs in Indonesia and India.  

This paper examines how COVID-era economic policy measures – specifically those addressing liquidity – are directly affecting low-income segments and the financial institutions that serve them. In particular, the paper reviews the liquidity needs of financial institutions serving low-income customers in light of COVID-19, provides examples of policy measures being taken around the world to…

DFI organise désormais chaque mois un webinaire en Français dans le but de se rapprocher davantage de sa communauté francophone. Le premier de cette série nous amène à la découverte des banques digitales et néo banques en Afrique. Nos éminents panélistes nous entretiendront sur les apports des néo-banques et des banques digitales dans l’amélioration de…

The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA) compiled a report on QR code merchant payments and their relationship with mobile money providers (MMPs). Describing MMPs as key players in the provision of financial services in emerging markets, and why MMPs see QR code merchant payments as a potential adjacent opportunity to expand their products and…

Il ne faut pas opposer les mots ‘banque digitale’ et ‘néo-banque’ car dans le fond, la frontière est assez mince par endroits. Les néo-banques, en effet, se définissent très souvent comme des banques 100% digitales. Il suffit de visiter les sites web de Revolut (Royaume-Uni), N26 (Allemagne) (1), Orange Bank Africa (Côte d’Ivoire) (2) ou…

This webinar organised by Digital Finance Professionals Ghana, discussed global trends in the DFS space and highlight strides that Ghana has chalked in growing its DFS market. Panelists for the webinar were: Derek B. Layrea – Head, Research and Communications, of Telecoms Chamber David Porteous – Chairman of Digital Frontiers and CEO of BFA Global…

Bonne nouvelle pour les francophones passionnés de finance digitale ! DFI lance une série d’activités qui lui permettront d’interagir plus régulièrement avec sa communauté francophone. Partage de connaissances, discussions, retours d’expériences sont au programme à travers des activités telles que : des webinaires mensuels en français sur des thèmes d’actualité ; des publications d’articles sur des thèmes…

The Financial Inclusion Compass was launched by European Microfinance Platform in 2018. The publication is based on a sector-wide mixed-methodology survey of various stakeholders, giving the chance for practitioners, investors, donors, academics and support service providers, among others to present their thoughts on the trends, future areas of focus, challenges and opportunities for inclusive finance…

In the spotlight this month is CDFP gradutate, COP Facilitator and President of the Digital Finance Practitioners Ghana – Ophelia Ama Oni. In our interview we share with you Ophelia’s CDFP journey, how it impacted her career and also about her role in leading the formation of an association for digital finance professionals in Ghana.…

The Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion in partnership with The Central Bank of Eswatini conducted a diagnostic study which investigated the potential for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and the possible use cases for the implementation of a CBDC in Eswatini. This report provides a summary of the study findings.  

The 2020 CSAF State of the Sector Report reflects on the present and future impacts of COVID-19 across the agriculture sector. CSAF’s data partner  analyzed 2019 data from CSAF’s alliance of 15 lenders, which shows that lending volumes to agricultural small and medium enterprises are nowhere near what’s needed to achieve the sector’s impact potential.

For financial services providers looking to open APIs, the right combination of people, processes, and technology is essential. Too often, however, business leaders do not engage on key technology considerations, and business strategy is kept separate from technology strategy. This can lead to technically unreliable solutions that require intensive, ongoing technical support and create financial…

This highlights deck from CGAP aims to drive awareness and use of APIs. It seeks to help DFS providers understand the differing needs of third parties across different segments, identify engagement activities that can address those needs, and start to think about an engagement strategy that is aligned with internal priorities and capacity. It will…

Financial institutions and governments have been working for years to leverage digitized G2P for women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment. COVID-19 has increased the stakes, as governments look to use G2P programs to strengthen women’s resilience. New research from Women’s World Banking offers insights on Indonesia’s PKH program, the country’s largest conditional cash transfer.

Living on Little, by Julie Zollmann, illuminates the many deep and overlooked ways that scarcity shapes the lives of ordinary Kenyans. Drawing on four years of systematic research with nearly 300 low-income families, this book offers readers a new and intimate perspective on poverty. Living on very little money doesn’t just mean that you worry…

Digital identity is essential for the sustainable digital transformation of society, the public sector and the economy. One question arises: Under what circumstances can digital identification be a tool for inclusion or pose a risk to the rights of individuals? Amid this dilemma comes the global Good ID movement, which seeks to recognize and promote the…

The Global State of Small Business Report, based on the Future of Business Survey, is an ongoing research collaboration by Facebook, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank to survey small and medium-sized businesses around the world over a six-month period in the context of COVID-19. The aim of these…

The Garment Worker Diaries collect regular, credible data on the work hours, income, expenses, and financial tool use of workers in the global apparel and textile supply chain in producing countries. The objective of the project is to have the data inform: government policy decisions, collective bargaining, and factory and brand initiatives related to improving…

Technology undoubtedly has the potential to improve the access, quality and relevance of financial services for underserved customers around the world. Dynamic tech startups lie at the forefront of innovation in this space, harnessing technology, data and lean operating models to design more affordable, accessible and appropriate products that meet the unique needs of underserved…

Le mois de juillet marque le cinquième anniversaire de Digital Frontiers Institute. Notre mission reste la même : développer le capital humain dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire dans des secteurs en ligne avec les objectifs de développement durable. Mais bien que nous nous nous soyons lancés dans la finance inclusive pour tous,…

This site features the long-distance journeys of dispossessed people — refugees, migrants and asylum seekers who have traveled far to escape persecution and grinding poverty. We examine their stories though a financial lens to better understand the costs and strategies involved in their journeys as well as the economic approaches they use when putting down roots…

In 2016, AXA Mansard—one of Nigeria’s largest insurance companies—began differentiating itself in an increasingly competitive retail market by focusing on women. With support from International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Women’s Insurance Program, the company sought to become the preferred insurer and the employer of choice for Nigerian women. This led the company to conduct market research…

This list is the result of desk research on law and regulation regarding client protection in microfinance.

This case study from FINCA speaks directly to the promotion of financial inclusion for women and equal access to capital, markets, digital technology and business development services. The initiative is a true testament to how access to credit, mobile technology and digital literacy are jointly contributing toward women’s economic empowerment.

IFC has generated a case study on 1st for Women Insurance (1st for Women), which was launched in 2004 to provide insurance solutions specifically designed for South African women—a first in the country. The case study examines 1st for Women’s approach, the South African women’s market and developing women-centric insurance products.

Bundling and partnership-based approaches have enabled agricultural insurance services to grow. This has improved smallholder farmers’ climate resilience and provided them with a safety net against crop losses. However, poor weather data availability, inadequate government support and distribution difficulties remain barriers to scale. This webinar, run in partnership with GSMA, explored how mobile technology and…

Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are leading digital app markets in Africa. The relatively high levels of app usage across these markets are driven by expanded smartphone penetration, as well as higher levels of access to digital financial services, including mobile money. This series of infographics showcases the data on the size and scale of…

Development funders are increasingly embracing the potential of digital financial services (DFS) to promote financial inclusion. As these funders – bilaterals, multilaterals, development finance institutions and private foundations – continue to look for ways to respond to emerging crises and opportunities, the support for digital finance and the ecosystem around it is increasing in prominence.…

Within the field of impact investing, the emergence of Gender-Smart Investing (GSI) carries major significance. The growth of this investment lens has been rapid and the amounts invested are noteworthy. In 2018, 496 institutional asset owners reported that they applied gender lens criteria to $868 billion in assets; more than double the $397 billion identified…

The NpM, Platform for Inclusive Finance (NpM), Rural Finance working group undertook a collaborative study of smallholder finance through or with farmers’ organisations that included 14 projects of partners in Ethiopia, Mali, Rwanda and Uganda.

A COVID-19 policy response framework to recover and adapt. COVID-19 is leaving no country unaffected. The global scale of the pandemic is affecting trade, capital flows, tourism and remittances, while lockdown or other measures to contain the spread of the virus are affecting domestic output and livelihoods. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where most economies were in a…

Emerging technology is driving optimism about building a more inclusive digital economy. Will one innovation—a digital asset known as stablecoins—expand access to financial services among the poor and unbanked? Success may depend on innovators’ answers to five questions—and how regulators and consumers respond. This note by F. Christopher Calabia encourages further study of these questions…

The Innovative Agri-Finance Challenge Fund Playbook is a collaborative effort to assist challenge fund managers, implementers, technical assistance providers, donors and other stakeholders in managing challenge funds effectively and improving the design and implementation of future challenge fund mechanisms.

This GSMA hosted webinar, considers real-life examples of what mobile operators are doing to reach female customers and discusses their top 10 recommendations for reaching women with mobile.

Although in early stages, the upcoming National Financial Inclusion Strategy of Benin will help increase opportunities for FinTechs in Benin, especially if they spend time to understand the market and understand how they can add value to it by working with incumbents. The key success factors for FinTechs to stimulate financial inclusion in Benin are…

Over the past decade, India’s investments in its digital financial infrastructure—known as “India Stack”—have sped up the large-scale digitization of people’s financial lives. As more and more people begin to conduct transactions online, questions have emerged about how to provide millions of customers adequate data protection and privacy while allowing their data to flow throughout…

Digital financial services have expanded opportunities for millions of women across the globe. More than 240 million more women now have an account with a financial institution or mobile money service, compared to 2014. Through this increased engagement in the formal economy, women’s resilience to financial, economic and health shocks is improving. However, there remains…

The G20 has made enhancing cross-border payments a priority during the 2020 Saudi Arabian Presidency. Faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive cross-border payment services would deliver widespread benefits for citizens and economies worldwide, supporting economic growth, international trade, global development and financial inclusion. This CPMI report, and its accompanying technical background report, represent the output…

Microsave’s latest research on the impact of the COVID 19 on CICO agents in Kenya provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges that CICO agents currently face and their coping strategies. The report provides recommendations for policymakers and financial service providers to support them. The report highlights that the CICO agents face severe health risks…

It is estimated that approximately one billion people across the world do not have access to an officially recognizable identity. The accurate verification of identity is integral to the Know Your Customer (KYC) processes necessary for compliance with Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulation. The inability of financial institutions to properly verify…

The focus on youth reflects the fact that almost half of the world’s 1.2bn young people aged between 15-24 remain unbanked. This report examines the factors that contribute to youth financial inclusion and the role of digital financial services in meeting young people’s financial needs. It then explores opportunities and challenges relating to advancing youth…

AI is changing the face of the banking industry. How can banks meet the governance challenges and take advantage of this game-changing technology? To answer this crucial question, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Temenos have produced this new report, Overseeing AI: Governing Artificial Intelligence in Banking Key findings in the report include: 77% of banking…

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the World Bank Group have issued the final report on Payment aspects of financial inclusion. This builds on an earlier version of the report that underwent public consultation in late 2015 and seeks to tackle barriers to the adoption and usage of transaction accounts, which sit at the…

This overview from Microsave gives a unique glimpse of the FinTech ecosystem of Côte d’Ivoire, how it has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and what measures and guidelines are being proposed and implemented by the government and regulators of the country. It can also be accessed in French here.

Data systems to register and identify recipients of transfers underpin everything in a targeted distribution system in terms of who is eligible, who is not, why, for what and for how long. Data collection for these systems is often the first contact point between crisis-affected populations and responders. This research on this topic explores the…

The global pandemic COVID-19 and the ensuing emergencies have reinforced the urgency of using Digital Financial Services (DFS) to preserve the functioning of financial systems and the security of people during the period of declining demand, reduced supplies, and tightening credit terms. Digital payments, particularly when accompanied by digital financial Infrastructure and enabling regulations, help…

This report from BIS, highlights the role central banks play in maintaining the safety and integrity of the payment system and reviews how central banks are embracing innovation.

The Global Fintech Index launched the world’s first real-time ranking of fintech ecosystems and fintech companies globally. It ranks over 60 countries and 230 cities according to the strength of their Fintech ecosystem.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are one of the strongest drivers of economic development, innovation and employment. Access to finance is frequently identified as a critical barrier to growth for MSMEs. Creating opportunities for MSMEs in emerging markets is a key way to advance economic development and reduce poverty. The private and public sector…

Countries in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region have been on a development curve in setting up effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulatory responses that meet the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. This toolkit is the first of its kind and benefits from extensive comments and reviews from FATF as…

Over the past five years, UNCDF has been working to stimulate private sector engagement in rural areas of Uganda through digital bulk payment projects across the following five agricultural value chains; coffee, dairy, maize, seed oil and tea. The digitization of these value chains brought about significant benefits and opportunities to agribusinesses in the developing…

This guidance outlines the security profiles of biometric recognition technologies, and how to build secure authentication systems which incorporate them. This document is concerned with biometric systems for the verification of individuals, and will cover only those modalities which are commercially available, and appropriate to the field of cyber security. These are: fingerprint, face, iris, vein pattern, and speaker recognition.

Digital platforms, also known as multi-sided marketplaces, are seamlessly matching customers to suppliers of goods and services in e-commerce and other emerging industries, thereby creating new pathways for individuals to participate in the digital economy. At the heart of the rapid rise of Africa’s digital platforms are the payment methods and channels that facilitate and…

In Ghana, cash is the primary payment method used to purchase cocoa, with over 90% of farmer-level transactions (more than GHS 7 billion, or USD 1.26 billion) conducted using cash every year. As the cocoa sector considers its transition to digital payments, this report seeks to determine the overall costs and risks of using cash,…

Did you know that you can now access your DFI courses on your smartphone? You need to download the Moodle Mobile app which is available from the iOS App Store or Android Google Play Store.  Once you have downloaded the Moodle Mobile app simply following these steps to connect to DFI’s campus:    Select I’m a learner  In the site address field type in: https://campus.digitalfrontiersinstitute.org/learn and…

Mobile money taxation is a controversial subject. On the one hand mobile money has been something of a development success story in those countries where it has taken hold. On the other, developing countries face a range of issues when it comes to raising sufficient revenue to fund public services. This paper from the GSMA takes a fresh…

The SEEP Network defines digital savings groups (DSGs) as “technologies and systems that digitize savings group records, procedures or transactions.” What is most exciting about the growing range of DSG solutions is their potential for scale – creating new incentives for market actors, reducing the cost of training, and dramatically increasing the potential for outreach.…

This webinar looked fundamentals of interoperability and approaches within Africa with a special focus on Mozambique and Malawi. Panelists for the webinar were Gertrude Kadumbo, Chief Executive Officer at National Switch Limited, Malawi and Joao Gasper, experienced DFS Consultant and Founder of PayTek.  Interoperability is the ability for different systems to connect with one another. In…

This paper examines key considerations around central bank digital currency (CBDC) for use by the general public, based on a comprehensive review of recent research, central bank experiments, and ongoing discussions among stakeholders. It looks at the reasons why central banks are exploring retail CBDC issuance, policy and design considerations; legal, governance and regulatory perspectives;…

Introducing you all to Alfred Ikemon Biaou, who is a professional in the banking industry and specialises in electronic banking products and services. He has over 10 years’ experience in the field at UBA Bank and currently at Coris Bank International where he leads the e-banking & remittances unit. He’s always been passionate about solving…

Innovations of all kinds contribute to greater economic growth, and tech innovations, in particular, can increase digital inclusion for individuals. But this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. For an innovation ecosystem to flourish, you need tech-savvy entrepreneurs, access to finance and a balanced network of connectors, plus an enabling environment. These ecosystems consist of, among…

The spread of Covid-19 and ‘stay at home’ measures in response to it are dramatically reshaping global societies and economies. This report from the European Commission contributes to understanding the potential economic implications of the Covid-19 crisis by focusing on its implications for migrant remittances in Africa. Large declines in remittance inflows could affect the…

Achieving fully interoperable mobile money services that fulfil the needs of customers remains a goal for both the industry and the financial inclusion community. Emerging evidence from six markets sheds light on why this is the case. As more countries consider and implement a mobile money interoperability solution, this report from GSMA builds the evidence base…

Women play key roles in their homes, communities, and businesses. If insurers develop targeted approaches and products for women, they have the potential to earn up to $1.7 trillion by 2030. They can also help increase women’s understanding and willingness to buy insurance products to better protect their families or the companies women own or operate. The…

‘It’s our fifth birthday – my how we’ve grown”  This July marks five years since Arjuna Costa at Omidyar saw something in David, Ignacio and I wanting to solve for the human capital gaps preventing global development initiatives from reaching their true potential. Omidyar seeded our start-up and led the charge to bring in funding from MasterCard…

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 1, 2020 – Gateway Academy, the digital learning platform for financial inclusion incubated by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), is merging with Digital Frontiers, a globally recognized non-profit that focuses on capacity building for the development community. The merger will help strengthen financial inclusion training, widen the markets served,…

On 19 March 2020, the Secretary-General of the United Nations called for an urgent and coordinated response from the international community to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Five days later, the Remittance Community Task Force (RCTF) was launched by Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID) 2020 co-organizers, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),…

Financial literacy is becoming more important, prompting public authorities, international organizations and the private sector to implement a variety of financial education programs. This case study features Armenia’s experience with classroom-based financial education workshops and the Central Bank of Armenia’s (CBA) efforts to measure the effectiveness of these workshops on financial inclusion and financial behavior.

Humanitarian aid has increasingly moved from cash to digital over the last decade, but the vast majority of assistance still remains in-kind or commodity transfers, rather than unconditional cash. The reasons behind this are vast, but primarily stem from the challenges of delivering to the last mile. Coming from a payments perspective, the fundamentals of…

In this webinar three financial service providers (FSPs) that serve refugees discuss solutions to some of the problems created by the COVID-19 crisis and how they have adapted their operations. Although focused on Uganda, there are many lessons which can be adapted to other locations. DFI partnered with PHB Development and Opportunity International on the…

The webinar led by Sandy Rheeder, Chief Information Officer, takes you on Mukuru’s digital journey from a simple online offering of petrol coupons from the UK to Zimbabwe in the late 2000’s, to a remittances company today which operates across SADC and the sub-continent, offering customers multiple channels on which to access remittance and other…

Financial regulators are challenged to respond to the innovation opportunities presented by financial technology (fintech). Current rules are not necessarily sufficient or effective to adequately regulate new business models and new products relating to innovations such as crypto assets or digital financial services. Regulators that fail to respond in a timely manner may drive innovation…

We’re launching a new way for our community to discuss, share their thoughts and create industry best practice, called ‘The Pop-up Discussion’. These sessions will focus one topic and discuss various aspects over 72 hours. There is no set time commitment and it is not a course, but somewhere to discuss and share. The discussion…

This paper draws on mobile application data from 74 countries to document the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the adoption of digital finance and fintech. It estimates that the spread of COVID-19 and related government lockdowns have led to between a 24-32% increase in the relative rate of daily downloads of finance mobile applications…

Mozambique faces high levels of financial exclusion, particularly among the two thirds of the population living in rural areas. Access to insurance is low and awareness and knowledge is low. NBC Mozambique was founded in 2014 and is currently the only licensed microinsurer in Mozambique. This Case Brief showcases their approaches to securing partnerships to…

Globally, less than 20 per cent of smallholder farmers have insurance. Low awareness of insurance products and the high cost of premiums have restricted farmer uptake of indemnity-based insurance services. Insurance providers have largely overlooked smallholders due to the cost of acquiring and serving rural customers. Index insurance offers ways of overcoming some of the…

This webinar discussed findings from the recent GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation report, Partnering During Crisis, on how mobile network operators (MNOs) and humanitarian organisations can partner for impactful delivery of aid and services, and share perspectives. Guest Speakers shared their lessons on how partnerships with humanitarian organisations can be designed for success, including during…

Everyone has a role to play to improve financial consumer protection, including clients. This report explores lessons learned from three CFI initiatives in Ghana, Benin, and Uganda to raise consumer awareness of their rights and responsibilities when accessing financial services.

Communities of Practice (COP) were established in 2016 to support students on two of DFI’s global online courses. Over the years tried and tested approaches were used to engage students and help them contextualise the content to their local context. They also enabled students to connect and network together and collaborate on initiatives. Students met…

Ghana became the first country to launch a digital financial services (DFS) policy. While the policy has been years in the making, the government hopes the policy will support various measures it is taking to leverage DFS in its COVID-19 response. Developed with technical support from CGAP and funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for…

This Fintech Report is the first of its kind to be written in Mozambique in a collaboration between FSDMoç and the Mozambican Fintech Association. Fintechs are companies, in most cases startups, that develop innovative technologies in the financial sector, creating disruptive services for the final consumer. In an industry strongly linked to systems, processes, paradigms and…

The pandemic’s effect on the flow of global remittances sent by migrants back home to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is projected to be one of sharp decline – a fall by about one fifth this year. The estimated 20 per cent slump represents US$ 109 billion in 2020. The hardship of COVID-19 felt by migrants…

This narrative is a composite of experiences shared with the Caribou Digital research team, including direct quotes, presented in three short vignettes to highlight critical elements of how refugees engage with the identification systems of UNHCR and other humanitarian organisations.

This brief from Care International includes examples of mitigating measures being put in place by VSLA members and CARE to lessen the impact of the pandemic on VSLA groups and their members. The brief also shares experiences of how VSLAs have adapted and delivered support through past epidemics and crises.

Financial policymakers and regulators in emerging and developing countries are mindful of the potential that FinTech holds for financial inclusion. While there is an increasing global convergence on the debate about and  implementation of regulatory and supervisory responses to these business model innovations, knowledge on how to deal with the risks of fast-moving technologies remains…

We’ve shared many covid-19 related resources and blogs via our League of Digital Finance Professionals group on LinkedIn and also included some papers and case studies in our cultivated knowledge bank. We thought we’d collate some of the popular sites, hubs and portals of information about covid-19 in this blog post to help you keep…

Farouq is experiencing an illustrious career within banking. He began his career as a Teller with Stanbic Bank, where he received several promotions due to his performance, and now is a Relationship Manager of Electronic Channels at Bank of Africa, Uganda.  He has completed both the Certificate in Digital Money (CIDM) and Leading Digital Money…

In this webinar, Emrys Schoemaker discusses some of the trends in digital identification, drawing from research conducted in national ID schemes, identification for refugees and approaches that map identity ecosystems.     Caribou Digital’s research has resulted in the development of a holistic approach that looks beyond just the ID itself but to the wider…

Case study on the UK Faster Payments Service.

Digitizing social welfare payments can be a win-win for all stakeholders involved when done right; the recipients of welfare receive their payments in a more convenient and cost-effective way, the government can streamline services to make them more efficient and reduce illegitimate payment, and the service provider gains more customers. It was this thinking that…

he ubiquity and scale of mobile networks has made mobile an attractive delivery channel for many types of humanitarian assistance, and recent evidence shows that humanitarian stakeholders and the private sector are recognising the potential to offer essential products and services in an emerging digital humanitarian ecosystem. However, there is little available evidence of the…

UNCDF organized this webinar to discuss how fast-tracking digital payments at a time of crisis can be crucial in delivering aid and in post-crisis recovery. Three speakers from the UNCDF Inclusive Digital Economies team, Ali Akram, Sabine Mensah and Jaspreet Singh, were invited to share their experience and expertise. The objective of the webinar was to…

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the importance of the insurance sectors’ role in development, and in the economic resilience of businesses and individuals. As of April 9, a third of the global population was in lockdown to slow the spread of the virus. Lockdown restrictions across the world have led to insurers across the continent…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented challenges for the global economy. It has affected global health systems, affected peoples’ livelihoods and will, invariably, leave long lasting economic effects. Many countries have adopted partial or total ‘lock downs’, restricting movement in a bid to “flatten the curve” and to limit the spread of the virus.…

Microsave’s ongoing research uncovered a set of unique challenges that cash-in/cash-out (CICO) agents currently face in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report looks at the experience and behaviors of CICO agents across eight countries and explores ways to support them through favorable policies, even as the disease rages on around the world.

The findings of this study on SSRN raise important issues at the intersection of economics and culture, and indicate that preexisting social distance (particularly unequal gender empowerment and gendered beliefs) can incentivize undesirable market outcomes and may be an important source of local financial market frictions.

The Toolkit for the Digitisation of Agricultural Value Chains is a collection of resources that illustrate how digital technologies can address pain points for farmers and value chain actors, such as agribusinesses and cooperatives, in the agricultural last mile. These resources support the use of digital technologies for digital procurement, by enabling the transition from…

This paper from Asian Development Bank examines digital financial services and products—powered by financial technology—as well as low technology solutions that can boost digital financial inclusion for women in remote and rural areas. New and innovative digital approaches that facilitate access to finance can effectively support the socioeconomic empowerment of women in Asia and the…

There has never been a better time to achieve impact with data. More and more data is available, computing power is ever increasing, and mathematical techniques and the so-called data science are getting more and more advanced. What’s more, “digital” and “data” have become the talk of the town. Yet while talking about data as…

David Porteous has led many scenario exercises over the years which seek to identify different possible outcomes as the basis for building robust strategies. As the Covid-19 crisis has grown, he has become involved with BFA clients in various countries, applying scenario logic to this situation. In this webinar, he shares some emerging general insights,…

For the past three years in Tanzania, UNCDF and its partners have been developing and delivering financial education through a wide range of mechanisms, such as SMS (Arifu), tablet-based apps (Jijenge), videos (Noa Ubongo, Shamba Shape-Up), campaigns (Saving is Love), in-person trainings, and using savings groups as inclusive and supportive platforms for learning. This year, UNCDF…

Savings at the Frontier (SatF) was set up in 2015 to promote formal financial service provision to savings groups and savings collectors (informal savings mechanisms (ISMs). It has partnered with nine financial service providers (FSPs) in Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia to explore viable business models for reaching “the financial access frontier.” This focus note describes…

On an ordinary day, Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city, is laden with agents on almost every corner of popular shopping malls, streets and communities. These agents contribute to the din in the city and offer various digital financial services to passersby and loyal returning clients. The agents are usually ready to offer money transfers, cash in…

Technological innovation has made major inroads into financial services, especially payments. The pace of innovation has substantially increased in the past five years, leading to the “era of fintech”. Fintech presents both opportunities and challenges for financial access and inclusion. It can support improved access to safe transaction accounts and encourage their frequent use. However,…

This webinar led by Emma Lindley, co-founder of Women in Identity and Chief Commercial Officer for Truststamp, explored biases and ideas for bringing diversity to the digital identity industry. As humans we all have bias and there are different types of bias such as observer bias – where we see what we expect to see,…

In Bangladesh, a mother can now receive her child’s education scholarship through her mobile phone account instead of having to stand in long lines at the school on a prearranged day for a cash handout. Not only does this save her time and effort and provide accurate and documented payment, it also relieves school officials…

The emergence of blockchain technology holds great promise for supply chain organizations. However, concerns around blockchain interoperability can serve as an obstacle to deployment. The World Economic Forum (Forum) and Deloitte examined the challenges and potential solutions for interoperability in the context of supply chain, global trade and the fourth industrial revolution. Read the report…

This document from UNHCR is a snapshot of the many innovative field practices emerging in light of COVID-19. UNHCR preparedness and response to COVID-19 is comprehensive including cash assistance as a quick and efficient means of getting assistance to people fast, empowering families to deal with the crisis and meet their basic needs, mitigating some…

This is a summary of the key points from rsources being shared on CVA and COVID-19. It is a living document and we  be updated as new resources are added. It is intended to help organisations understand and prepare for likely impacts of COVID-19 on their work, consider whether CVA is right for the contexts…

In this podcast from Care International, Holly Radice talks about how people have limited bandwidth to adopt new things in crisis, and how cash transfers in Ebola failed at digital solutions because of unrealistic expectations. Her recommendations: do everything you can to adapt and expand existing systems to push out cash safely, examine your context very carefully and…

This brief from Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund highlights two regional case studies: the female agents, DFS Learning Program and other learnings from the MENA region that had an impact on how digital financial services can be used to accelerate women’s economic empowerment . The brief on making digital finance work for women in the MENA…

In this webinar, our panelists discuss the impact of COVID19 on capacity building and the role of online learning in mitigating the effects of the pandemic. Panelists were: Lutz Ziob, Founder & CEO of Ziob Consulting; Esselina Macome, CEO of FSD Mozambique and Professor at Eduardo Mondlane University; Thom Sinclair, CEO of Gateway Academy; and…

The Mobile Money Regulatory Index measures regulatory enablers of mobile money adoption. It has been constructed according to the steps set out in the guidelines developed by the OECD and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). This methodology document presents the theoretical framework that underpins the Index; the process for selecting the indicators, along…

Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan receive more than one quarter of their humanitarian assistance in the form of cash and vouchers. Leveraging this aid delivery to connect refugees to the formal financial system requires the host country to have widespread digital financial ecosystem in place and coordination among governments, aid agencies, and financial service…

Citizens, politicians and policymakers know that effectively managing one’s financial resources – being financially healthy – is central to the success of both individuals and broad populations. If financial health is to be a useful construct, it is important to be clear about what it means, how it is measured, and how it can be…

This third edition of The Mobile Gender Gap Report will consider how women’s mobile access and use are changing, and how efforts to reach women with technology should evolve alongside. This report provides: Updated figures on gender gaps in mobile ownership and mobile internet use in LMICs and how these are changing For the first…

This study, the Contribution of Fintechs for MSME Finance was produced by Helder Buvana as part of his journey to become a Certified Digital Finance Practitioner. It looks at how innovation, mainly technological innovation, is contributing to change the traditional way financial services are delivered to customers and how these new waves can reduce the…

This webinar, the first of a 2-part series looking at the impact of COVID-19, was focused on its effect on financial health. The webinar was moderated by Cenfri technical director and insight2impact programme lead Hennie Bester and featured the following panelists: Elisabeth Rhyne, Former Managing Director, Centre for Financial Inclusion, Amolo Ng’weno, CEO of BFA…

In this webinar Ignacio Mas asks us to raise our ambition levels when it comes to user interfaces. User interfaces for banking apps tend to be extremely boring; essentially a digital version of the old paper forms. If you could print off the user interface screens, you’d get the old paper forms. What could more…

The GSMA Inclusive Tech Lab has released its Interoperability Test Platform, the first joint test environment including two key technologies, the GSMA Mobile Money API and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Mojaloop. With this test platform, the GSMA provides the industry with an open-source and secure environment, enabling ecosystem participants to test their systems…

2019 marked a major milestone for the mobile money industry: the number of registered mobile money accounts surpassed one billion. Reaching the one billion mark is a tremendous achievement for an industry that is just over a decade old. The mobile money industry of today has a host of seasoned providers with a broad set…

In Ghana, Tanager has been complementing the development of agribusiness markets by linking agribusinesses with ecosystems for cashless banking as a bridge between rural communities and brick-and-mortar banking services. In order to roll out mobile payment platforms across supply chains, and provide last-mile financial services to rural farmers, Tanager partners with agribusinesses, producers, and mobile…

Mobile networks and connectivity have become increasingly necessary in times of crisis. They allow us to connect with loved ones, whether they are down the street or on the other side of the world. They fill not only a very human need to connect during times of hardship, but they also allow the coordination of…

We have some great webinars coming up during April and May – as always places are limited to 100 so sign up to avoid disappointment.   This webinar explores how we may be unknowingly and unwittingly influenced by our own biases. By having people with differing points of view on our teams, we can avoid…

This webinar, the first of a 3-part series looking at the impact of COVID-19, was focused on the impact on remittances in Africa and potential responses from governments, development partners and the private sector, and globally to understand how fast countries typically take to recover after a crisis or disaster. The webinar was moderated by…

We received the sad news yesterday of the passing of Ann Muhangi. Ann was our COP facilitator in Uganda and the driving force behind the establishment of their professional association, Digital Frontiers Association (DFA). Ann was passionate about financial literacy and improving lives. She was an educator, coach, mentor, motivational speaker, and pioneer of savings…

The Insur;Hack (focusing specifically on insurtech) was a collaborative effort designed to provide competing teams with sector-specific training and mentorship, as well as the chance to win financial and physical resources that enable them to ideate, prototype and build digital products that can help to disrupt the insurance industry. The event sought to pioneer innovation in…

Digital ID systems are evolving rapidly.  To determine whether a digital ID is suitable, governments, financial institutions and other stakeholders should: Understand the assurance levels of the digital ID system’s technology, architecture and governance Given its assurance levels, determine whether it is appropriately reliable, independent in light of potential risks that it is used to…

This case study by the Fund for Rural Prosperity looks at the lessons learned from Ibero Uganda’s approach to financially including coffee farming families.

APIs are often viewed as potential solutions for traditional financial institutions, particularly small and midsize banks, to partner with upstart financial technology companies (fintechs) to offer innovate products, especially to low-income customers. In practice, however, due to the maturity of the fintech market, fear of losing competitive advantage, and a variety of strategic errors in planning…

The world’s refugee population is growing. Although mobile connectivity is not an antidote to the challenges refugees face, evidence shows that access to connectivity improves the lives of refugees in a variety of ways. Proof of identity is often required for individuals to activate mobile-enabled services in their own name, but many refugees do not have…

This webinar, featuring Belinda Baah and Zoe Hamilton from the GSMA’s Mobile for Humanitarian Programme and Elizabeth Tromans from International Rescue Committee, discusses IRC’s experience with shifting to digital humanitarian assistance. There are benefits for both the humanitarian organisation and the client by using digital humanitarian assistance. For the organisation it offers scalability, security, speed,…

New technologies and business models are upending long-established markets across virtually every major sector, including the financial services sector. Traditional retail banks are joined by a growing number of digital partners and other competitors. One example are digital banks – firms that adopt new technologies to offer more effective banking services. This slide deck from…

The 4th Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence report has been published on fintech, regtech and the role of compliance in 2020. It explores the adoption and use of technology and its implications for compliance. The report also highlights the shifting role of the regulator and concerns about best or better practice approaches to tackle the rise…

In this webinar recording FinEquity’s Social Norms lead , Nisha Singh facilitated a conversation with the Anne Maftei and Clara Colina from the Rural and Agricultural Finance Learning Lab on the recently published Pathways to Prosperity report and the associated gender deep dive. The authors highlighted the novel approach to customer segmentation proposed in the report. Based…

This report from Cenfri reveals the findings from their qualitative and quantitative research with remittance senders who live in the United Kingdom and send remittances to either Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria or Uganda. Remittances act as key sources of financial support for households: They reduce the likelihood of impoverishment, contribute to improved health and education, and provide…

The white paper written by Yiannis Theodorou, Acting Head of Digital Identity at GSMA, discusses how mobile could be leveraged to accelerate digital identity ecosystems in Africa.

Despite rapid urbanisation in recent years, agriculture dominates Myanmar’s rural economy. Sectoral challenges, like farmers’ limited access to credit and associated low levels of financial inclusion, affect farmer livelihoods and limit opportunities for growth. Recently, innovative agritech companies have been testing the use of digital technologies to mitigate some of these challenges. This report from…

More people have been forced to flee their homes than at the height of World War II. The scale of these humanitarian crises are challenging, and sometimes outpacing, the capacity of institutions created to respond to them. Yet, the approaches available to reach populations in need have also advanced. In particular, the trend towards distributing…

Investment capital is flowing into fintech startups, yet it is still challenging to get capital to many fintechs addressing last-mile challenges. Evidence suggests this is driven in large part by a lack of information. Using data collected to test an initial set of Data Standards for Inclusive Fintech, this report from MIX presents insights into…

Often an open API initiative starts when a digital financial services (DFS) provider sees the potential for scaling the exposure of services, such as payments, to partners and third parties. However, internal resistance can squelch the initiative, as management grapples with potential security, data privacy and brand reputation risks. While these concerns are valid, if…

This research was conducted by Caribou Space for the International Partnership Programme, a five-year, £30 million per year initiative run by the UK Space Agency. This report outlines why and how the space industry has a role to play in addressing challenges within the finance sector in developing countries. It is part of a series…

Authentication is the cornerstone of secure digital transformation for platform businesses, and beyond that, a pillar of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: from internet of things (IoT) devices that need authentication for machine-to-machine communication, to artificial intelligence (AI) that will be used both to secure and bypass authentication systems, and even blockchain, for which trustworthy authentication…

The Identities research project explores user experiences of identity technology, brought to you by Caribou Digital, Omidyar Network and the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIITB). The need for user-centered research in “digital identity” arose out of concerns around top-down identity systems and lack of insights on how these are being understood and used,…

The efficient implementation of social protection systems – and particularly social cash transfers – requires new digital tools that facilitate the efficient selection and enrollment of beneficiaries and the targeted and transparent delivery of funds. Effective methods of verifying beneficiary identities are essential to these processes; however, several issues are likely to hinder this. This…

In 2017, a group of development partners, international organizations, government agencies, and NGOs actively working to design and support identification (ID) systems came together organically to develop a set of shared principles essential for maximizing the benefits of identification for development while mitigating the risks. These Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development have now been endorsed by…

The 15th edition of the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report is published as critical risks are manifesting. The global economy is facing an increased risk of stagnation, climate change is striking harder and more rapidly than expected, and fragmented cyberspace threatens the full potential of next-generation technologies — all while citizens worldwide protest political and economic…

This report represents the comparison of the 2019 self-reported responses against those provided by the G20 countries in 2017.

This segmentation study identifies Kenyans whose financial needs are not adequately met by the solutions available in the financial market, as well as the untapped opportunities they offer to financial service providers. The study was conducted by FSD Kenya and CGAP using data from FinAccess 2019. Over the past two decades, Kenya has made significant…

This report by Women’s World Banking explores the answers to three key questions: Which value chains in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam represent priority opportunities to develop increased credit offerings for women-owned MSMEs (micro-, small- & medium-sized enterprises) through value chain digitization? What forms of value chain digitization would be best suited to women-owned…

With the rise of digital technologies, the use of personal data by private companies is growing rapidly. But how do we know they will use this data responsibly and in consumers’ best interests? In emerging and developing markets, the question is particularly acute because the predominant model rests upon obtaining consumer consent to use their…

Research and experimentation on central bank digital currencies continue to fuel discussion and debate. This BIS paper updates an earlier survey that asked central banks how their plans in this area are developing. The latest responses show emerging market economies reporting stronger motivations and a higher likelihood that they will issue digital currencies, with central…

This blog post and video interview on Next Billion features Roshaneh Zafar discusing how Kashf Foundation handles the challenges of serving women customers in Pakistan, why its services go far beyond microcredit, and where the development sector’s investments in women are still falling short.

The CGAP Customer-Centric Guide is a collection of hands-on toolkits and experiments that help with the design and delivery of effective financial services for low-income customers.

This research report from Microsave Consulting explores the real problems restricting women’s access to, and usage of, formal financial services in India, and recommends the use of introducing different categories of women so that use, uptake and design of products can be improved.    

The Digital ID Tracker®, produced in collaboration with PYMNTS.com and Jumio, is a monthly resource for updates on trends and changes in the digital ID industry.    

The Dhaka Community of Practice (COP) started in April 2018, and was DFI’s first Asian COP. Through discussions with Bangladesh Bank, ten staff was awarded a scholarship for the Certificate in Digital Money (CIDM) course and one of the key driving forces behind this, Mohammad Rashed, became the group’s COP facilitator. The COP meetings were…

This report from the GSMA explores the potential revenue opportunity of digitising agricultural payments for mobile money providers. Two types of payment are ripe for digitisation: B2B payments; procurement payments from agribusinesses to smallholder farmers in formal value chains and G2P payments; subsidies paid out by governments to smallholder farmers. These opportunities offer mobile money…

The banking sector is experiencing a major shift globally, as Challenger Banks are becoming increasingly formidable competitors to traditional banks and have begun to capture significant market share. Furthermore, the lines between banks and other consumer financial services providers are blurring, with several alternative lenders and robo-advisors beginning to offer banking products to their customers.…

In 2016, the initial hypotheses was that: 1) financial services providers (FSPs) addressing financial inclusion had little understanding of the customers they were serving; 2) FSPs could learn distribution solutions from fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies that seemed to be able to reach all parts of Nigeria; 3) the operating business models, resources and…

This study of informal savings mechanisms (ISMs) and their users was conducted in three provinces of Zambia in 2019. Commissioned by the Savings at the Frontier (SatF) programme (a partnership between Mastercard Foundation and Oxford Policy Management) and Financial Sector Deepening Zambia (FSDZ) it was conducted by Oxford Policy Management in collaboration with Paul Rippey…

A common theme that arises in agricultural lending is the topic of collateral. There is shared acknowledgement that collateral requirements by most financial institutions and regulatory systems in low-income countries inhibit access to credit for smallholder farmers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the agriculture sector, particularly for those led by women. Conventional…

This Do No Harm framework is meant to guide project/product/service design, implementation, monitoring and project exit with a focus on “doing no harm while doing good” for the women and families Grameen Foundation and its partners serve. Social norms shape how people behave and expect others to behave. They define what women’s and men’s roles…

This is the second Compass survey. The 2018 edition started with a blank page – and was well received. The paper that came out of that survey touched on many of these issues: where does the obligation to protect clients start and end; what response is due to sector entrants that threaten incumbents and lack…

As digital commerce gains traction in Hong Kong and Macau, cashless payments become more ubiquitous in our everyday life. We have seen the emergence of challenger banks and fintechs, more innovation from incumbents, and advancement into open data. This is a perfect storm of innovation. What exactly do consumers think about recent developments in mobile…

Digital finance is an emergent and disruptive field. It is important for those working in the field to remain up-to-date and to apply what they learn. Peer engagement and interaction helps facilitate this continual development and growth of a profession. DFI students benefit from being part of a global, moderated peer-network called The League of…

This short article from GSMA explains the concept of decentralised identity.

Foreword from Gavin Krugel The importance of measurement and impact of initiatives and meeting customer needs are topics which feature in DFI’s courses.  Over the last four years DFI tracked its own value as a capacity-building institution by monitoring and measuring impact. Our scope for measuring our impact is on the places and the people…

Providing mobile banking services allows banks to significantly enhance the convenience, flexibility, accessibility, and affordability of their banking services. Money has been moving to the digital ecosystem for the last 25 years, with the arrival of internet banking, banking applications, and even digital money. Banks need to create a digital and mobile extension to their existing service…

Real-time instant payments have become a hallmark of the digital economy and financial system. As part of Cenfri’s growing work in payment ecosystems, this report clarifies and investigates proxy and addressing services as a critical lever for adoption of instant or near instant payments as part of the evolution of payment systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

This diagnostic study by Cenfri explores Zambia’s payments landscape and provides insight and key learnings as Zambia’s 2018 – 2022 payment strategy to modernise the payment system and promote a cash-light society. This report outlines salient features of the Zambian economic context and political economy with a bearing on the National Payment System. It provides a…

This annual report looks back at the last ten years of the UNSGSA and the progress made within inclusive finance. It highlights the journey of change featuring specific sections on Jordan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Argentina. It also looks at the road ahead and priorities for the next ten years.

A key regulatory enabler for building inclusive digital financial services is creating a special licensing window for electronic money issuers (EMIs). Because EMIs have a lower risk profile than banks, they require less regulatory oversight. A special licensing category that recognizes that their role is to store customer funds converted into e-money held in basic…

On 30th November the Association Digital Frontiers Senegal (ADF-SN) was launched. DFI alumni along with digital finance professionals were invited to the General Assembly (GA) to elect the board, appoint auditors and to decide on the vision and mission of the association. The Digital Frontiers Senegal Association aims to promote digital transformation and contribute to…

This playbook is a guide for financial service providers to use behavioral design to increase engagement with digital tools. All of the strategies are rooted in behavioral science—the study of how people act and make decisions in the real world. It outlines design principles for common barriers to adoption that take into account how people process…

Given the Grand Bargain commitments to increase the use of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) where appropriate, it is critical that these commitments unfold hand in hand with commitments also made to gender equality in humanitarian settings. Recent research has shown, without adequate gender analysis and targeting, cash and voucher assistance can fail to reach…

This white paper from ONOW Myanmar discusses their efforts to build capabilities in digital financial capabilities. The paper encompasses efforts in digital and financial literacy, tied to real world uptake and use of DFS.

This working paper from UN Women is based on initial discussions with and between Task Force members, technical experts, practitioners, innovators, and other stakeholders, as well as on a review of available literature. The paper provides a basis to review the barriers, risks, and opportunities related to gender and the accessibility and utilization of digital…

In many emerging economies, digital financial services markets are limited to one or two major providers, reducing innovation, customer choice and potentially facilitating monopolistic or cartelistic behavior. Why are DFS markets prone to concentration? Is this a problem? In this primer, CGAP applies a framework to help answer these questions and demonstrate how regulation can have…

Cash, also termed fiat currency, has always been a medium of exchange for trading and exchange of value. It is in this regard that we see some economies going through a lot of turbulences when this value is disturbed. In Zimbabwe, we note that the country went through this turbulence from early 2000 to date,…

In 2014, Mastercard Foundation and UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) formed a partnership to try to replicate and scale a model that had found success in the Pacific region – taking a market development approach to increasing digital financial inclusion. Through the partnership, UNCDF was able to expand the Mobile Money for the Poor programme (MM4P)…

This e-book on micro pensions will introduce seven strategies for designing successful micro pensions and its aim is for readers to have a better understanding of how micro pensions can benefit their organization and country.

This is the first index designed to rank fintech activity globally, to understand the scale and scope of fintech activity in different regions of the world.

This document aims to set the scene with a definition of FinTech and an overview of FinTech in Ireland and Globally – setting out key investment statistics which demonstrate the significant growth in FinTech which has taken place. It then examines the key success factors or attributes of a well-functioning FinTech eco-system and analyse Ireland…

The ability to send and receive fast, transparent and trackable cross-border payments is a key driver to success in global business and trade. The correspondent banking community has made giant leaps forward to meet the requirements of global companies in 2019. This ebook from SWIFT explores how cross-border payments have progressed and utilising the following advancements:…

The objective of this case study is to understand the International Rescue Commitees’s (IRC) motivation and experience shifting from in-kind to cash assistance – with a focus on digital cash – at both the headquarter (HQ) and country level. It explores the drivers and lessons learned in leveraging digital payment modalities, specifically mobile money. It…

For years, digital financial services providers have tried and failed to seize a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity: the large-scale digitization of retail payments in emerging markets.What must providers do differently to make digital payments work better than cash for merchants and their customers? CGAP Senior Financial Sector Specialist Peter Zetterli’s search for an answer led him to a…

Microfinance has an intrinsic social mission: it is generally described as a system which makes it possible to provide financial services to those who are vulnerable and have very few resources, and it has been developed to fill a need and to position itself as an alternative solution to the traditional banking and financial services,…

Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) provide a range of financial and non-financial services to low-income households around the globe as it is costly for financial institutions to provide the same services. MFIs have been offering these services to the unserved and underserved population but they are also struggling to balance outreach with costs. Use of technology,…

World Bank rated Ant Financial as the most valuable fintech company worldwide in  their 2019 World Development Report. Its valuation is approximately $160 billion. Ant Financial is growing rapidly and outperforming financial institutions, both the innovation capability of is financial business adn the technical output capability serving third-party financial and non-financial institutions are indispensable consideration…

Digital Frontiers Institute established the Certified Digital Finance Practitioner (CDFP) program, in 2017, to support the growing need for a professional certification in digital financial services. Now, three years later, we celebrate the first ever graduating class from this one-of-a-kind course. Featuring students from across the world, including ones from Zambia, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Rwanda and the…

The purpose of this paper is to study the use of financial technologies by women in the financial market of Tajikistan, to identify existing barriers and drivers for expanding opportunities through financial technologies to increase the level of financial inclusion of women in the Republic of Tajikistan. The main method of research is a sociological…

This paper assesses the relevance of cyber security for the development of inclusive financial systems in developing countries. The growing use of digital financial services and shared service platforms has increased the financial sector’s exposure to cyber risks. Financial service providers and their customers, regulators and supervisors are challenged with the increase in cyber threats…

Most digital financial services users around the world live in cash-based societies, and they require a cheap and easy way to switch between the worlds of cash and digital currency. Agent networks that provide this service tend to cluster around urban and peri-urban areas and larger rural towns. However, global evidence shows that emerging agent network…

Women constitute the majority of remittance recipients globally and remittances have an impact on both women’s actual income as well as on social norms. This article from GSMA explores the patterns of remittances and why it has a gendered appeal.

The consumer insights research series is designed to inspire providers, regulators and other financial market facilitators to design financial services and markets that respond to the aspirations of low-to-moderate income (LMI) people and improve their financial health. Why financial health? Financial health matters because our research shows that financial pressures prevent LMI people from having a…

Mohammad Rashed is our fifth CDFP graduate. We conducted an interview with him so we could learn more about his experience and CDFP journey. Mohammad Rashed has been serving Bangladesh Bank (central bank) since 2006 and is currently in the position of Joint Director. He was responsible for AML/CFT related supervision of Money Remittance as well…

Conceived as an ambitious project to provide universal identity to more than one billion Indians, Aadhaar is unparalleled in its reach and aspiration. An important objective of the project has been to improve the ability of the Indian state to provide efficient, transparent and targeted delivery of welfare services to a large number of residents…

The microfinance institutions of the future will not know every client personally. They will acquire and service customers through a variety of partnerships, products, and channels, as some providers are already demonstrating. This publication from CGAP traces the journey of two global microfinance groups, Baobab and FINCA, that have worked with their “sister” pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar subsidiaries…

At nearly USD 150 billion, the gap in smallholder financing remains wide, and financial institutions by and large continue to find smallholder farmers a difficult and costly segment to serve. The result is that far too many smallholders remain without access to the finance – particularly credit – they need to obtain critical inputs, make…

The Human Account is a public information resource and tool aimed at enabling better design of products and policies to help people live a healthier financial life.  Around the world, whether rich or poor, we all share similar goals for our financial lives: security and the opportunity to create a better future for ourselves and…

In many emerging economies, digital financial services markets are limited to one or two major providers, reducing innovation, customer choice and potentially facilitating monopolistic or cartelistic behavior. Why are DFS markets prone to concentration? Is this a problem? This paper from CGAP applies a framework to help answer these questions and demonstrate how regulation can…

Most digital financial services users around the world live in cash-based societies, and they require a cheap and easy way to switch between the worlds of cash and digital currency. Agent networks that provide this service tend to cluster around urban and peri-urban areas and larger rural towns. However, global evidence shows that emerging agent network…

DFI together with Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) organised an event for DFI alumni and DFS professionals in Kigali on 1st November 2019. The topic for discussion was ‘The Power of Digital Platforms – Transforming Lives and Business.’   They keynote speaker was Shirley Mburu, associate from Bankable Frontiers Associates, a global consulting firm leveraging…

This document from UNCDF presents the final analysis of data collected through desk research, interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys on women and girls’ financial inclusion in The Gambia. It provides the overall context of financial inclusion, demand-side analysis of women and girls’ financial needs, an outlook on financial service provision to women and girls,…

This study encourages a shift in focus from examining access to finance to understanding actual usage of financial products. The study demonstrates the potential of Big Data analytics to generate granular sex- and youth-disaggregated information on the use of financial services, and to apply insights to inform product development and policy making.

The World Bank’s Agriculture and Food resource gives an insight into the innovation, infrastructure and resources they are delivering into the food and agriculture sector. There are sections on data and also reports on impact and achievement.

Farmer-level data collected from digital channels can be used to evaluate and rank potential borrowers in order of their likelihood to repay a loan. Such credit scoring models could help increase the scale and scope of lending to small holder farmers and augment existing value chain finance programs and informal lending. Several concurrent industry trends…

Taxation on mobile phone-based transactions and on airtime has been introduced in Kenya and is spreading to other African countries. Some countries in sub-Saharan Africa view mobile phones as a booming subsector easy to tax due to the increasing turnover of transactions and the formal nature of such transactions by both formal and informal enterprises.…

Major takeaways from this publication from Women’s World Banking  include: How to develop a successful digital savings product for women, how to create sustainable financial products for youth and their families, must haves for credit programs focused on women-owned businesses, and best practices for creating leadership programs to drive change.

This paper from the ABDI Institute showcases the growth as well as the challenging factors for fintech development in Indonesia. As the eighth-biggest economy in terms of gross domestic product, and with an internet participation ratio of more than 50% and more than 50 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the country shows huge…

For women and girls, the digital revolution represents one of the biggest opportunities and threats to gender equality. In recognition of this critical dichotomy, the UNSG Task Force on Digital Financing for the SDGs has selected gender as one of the main themes of its work. This working paper provides a basis to review the…

IDEO.org is a two-year initiative to surface the complex realities that keep women excluded from financial services and build solutions that unlock new opportunities to include women. In research was conducted in six contexts: Tanzania, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and India culminating in a report that illuminates global insights and opportunities for design. You can…

This report by UNCDF provides findings and proposed recommendations from an assessment of the fintech landscape in Rwanda. The report looks at four ecosystem attributes: 1) availability of talent, (2) demand for products and services, (3) availability of capital for start-ups and innovators, and (4) government policies and regulations regarding innovation.

A case study on Malawi features as part of DFI’s Leading Digital Money Markets course, but over the last four years significant changes and successes have been achieved. This webinar, featuring Chikhu Mphatso, General Manager of TMN Mpamba, gives an overview of the developments and ecosystem.   Changes that have occurred in Malawi since the…

The Doing Business 2020 study shows that developing economies are catching up with developed economies in ease of doing business. Still, the gap remains wide. An entrepreneur in a low-income economy typically spends around 50 percent of the country’s per-capita income to launch a company, compared with just 4.2 percent for an entrepreneur in a…

Gender equality is a critical component of economic growth. Women are half of the world’s population and we have our role to play in creating a more prosperous world. But we won’t succeed in playing it if the laws are holding us back. To develop a better understanding of how women’s employment and entrepreneurship are…

Part of the mandate of BFA’s Catalyst Fund is to share insights and lessons learned from their experience accelerating 25 inclusive fintech companies in emerging markets globally. This article discusses best practices in designing solutions for low-income populations, around the idea of Conscious coupling: how to ensure tech innovation does not undermine inclusion.

The last three years have seen a rapid acceleration in technology-driven innovation, which has powered changes in existing rural finance models, enabled providers to develop new service delivery models, and facilitated the bundling of services in new ways. It has also brought a more diverse influx of service and capital providers, which has reshaped the…

This report from GSMA brings together existing evidence to explore the ways in which mobile money is contributing to the digitalisation of finance to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The insights presented here illustrate the potential of mobile money to help achieve the 2030 targets by driving sustainable and inclusive growth, and providing solutions…

The excitement around fintech in India is palpable. This enthusiasm can be attributed to fintech’s potential as a market-led solution to the policy objective of financial inclusion. Fintech can expand the reach of formal finance by offering users personalized financial products in an economically viable manner. Unsurprisingly then, regulation of fintech is central to financial…

This is the most recent report from the Remittance Prices Worldwide website. The September 2019 report analyses global, regional and country specific trends in the cost of international remittances.

This document provides key principles and best practices that will offer guidance to assist regulatory and supervisory authorities in devising tools for the financial sector to deal with cybersecurity risks. The Cybersecurity Guide is also useful for financial service providers to help them strengthen their cyber-risk management in the provision of financial services that target…

In July and August 2019, members of the United Nations Capital Development Fund visited more than 30 different savings groups in the North-Western region of Kigoma, Tanzania, in order to conduct a socio-economic health assessment and explore what are the best practices that are used by different groups in refugee camps and host communities. These…

AFI network’s knowledge and experience in applying various e-Money policies and regulatory approaches have had a significant impact in advancing financial inclusion. It has helped create enabling environments for the deployment of innovative financial services by building resilience in the financial systems and protecting clients in this spectrum of electronic money services. The E-Money Policy…

Tavonga Edson Masendeken was our fourth CDFP graduate. We had the pleasure of getting to know him during this process and we wanted to share with our community more about his journey into this exclusive CDFP membership club!   Tavonga is a digital transformation and fintech expert, with over 8 years’ experience in the field.…

With support from Standard Chartered and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Women’s World Banking conducted research in India and Indonesia to investigate the potential of social commerce to advance women entrepreneurs’ financial inclusion.

Microfinance Opportunities, in collaboration with the Social Performance Task Force, conducted research to understand the experiences of garment workers in Bangladesh whose employers changed from paying them in cash to paying them digitally, either into a bank or a mobile money account. The purpose of this research is to identify ways in which an awareness…

This Gateway Guide was written to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) on their pathway to digital transformation. It sums up the latest research and practical lessons, along with useful links and resources.  

in the context of policies on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), advancing financial inclusion poses special challenges. Regulation must protect the integrity of financial systems and, at the same time, put the least burden on outreach to poor people and the unbanked. Achieving this balance requires a risk-based system of customer…

Driving financial inclusion necessitates that we introduce changes in the very architecture of the financial sector of an economy, particularly with respect to outreach. This transformation requires as a first step, understanding the characteristics of the target segment, using extensive data collection, analysis and inference to help FSPs develop financial products suited to the former’s…

Seven years since the launch of the first digital credit offering in Kenya, this analysis from the Smart Campaign and microsave gives observations, insights and an understanding of digital credit and users in Kenya.

Agricultural transformation is a priority in the policy agenda of African governments in their quest to meet the challenges of food and nutrition insecurity, climate change, youth unemployment and overall economic growth. With the right policies, innovation and investment, the continent’s agriculture could be transformed into a powerhouse not only to feed a growing population…

There are an estimated 500 million smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries. And, despite some improvement in their access to general financial services, relatively little progress has been made in financial services specific to their agricultural activities. This paper from CGAP examines the challenge of providing financial services that support the multiple goals of…

This podcast from PYMENTS explores the trends and developments expected for 2020 and what disruptions are anticipated in the digital finance space.

Gambling has been around for centuries, from black jack to poker, through to the roulette wheel and one-armed bandit. It is nothing new in many parts of the world, but the history of gambling is much less documented in East Africa, but now it is familiar past time for many. Sports betting used to be…

From the time gambling was introduced in East Africa it was a niche activity enjoyed by a few participants in society mostly foreigners and specific groups. It was not a main stream activity but mainly confined to casinos with expatriates and elites making up the bulk of their customers (1). There were also national lotteries…

This research paper by Robinson Mbae and Edmond Machengete explores the relationship of sports betting with digital credit, looking at how these have prevailed, the common consumer and amounts bet and borrowed. It also explores the role of regulation and education, and why its impact on financial inclusion and exclusion. You can also watch a recording…

Regulators face a challenge in balancing policies on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism against placing the least burden on outreach to the poor and unbanked. This Technical Note provides guidance on using risk-based approaches to customer due diligence (CDD), supported by examples drawn from around the world. There are three regulatory options for employing…

The expansion of digital financial accounts among poor customers has raised the question of whether e-money should be covered by deposit insurance and if so, how. This Technical Note examines the options while arguing that deposit insurance should not be the first line of defense, for two primary reasons. In many emerging markets where authorities have limited resources,…

Financial authorities’ use of technology has evolved over the years, leading to different generations of technology that culminate in what the paper by BIS, considers as suptech. Suptech refers to the application of big data or artificial intelligence (AI) to tools used by financial authorities. There are many ways of exploring suptech tools and these…

Responsible financial inclusion is being fully transparent in the pricing, terms and conditions of all financial products. Responsible financial inclusion is working with clients so they do not borrow more money than they can repay or use products that they do not need. Responsible financial inclusion employs respectful collection practices and adopts high ethical standards…

With an emerging consensus around the importance of responsible digital credit, demand is rising for a shared set of criteria to assess the practices of digital lenders. Investors and regulators want a way to evaluate consumer protection practices among the financial service providers they invest in or regulate. Digital financial service providers also want guidance to…

As digital technologies transform financial inclusion, with new providers, products, and delivery channels reaching out to the financially excluded, the need increases for effective legal and regulatory frameworks to protect low-income consumers. A sound legal framework for consumer financial protection will support financial inclusion and innovation, allow new products and services to responsibly reach previously…

Ekata’s e-book, The Value of Pre-Authorization Screening in the Payments Ecosystem of Today, highlights essential ways pre-authorization screening solves payment challenges. Learn not only about the difficulties in the transactions space, but how to create a layered identity verification approach that will solve PSD2 and fraud headaches.

The CGAP Smallholder Families Data Hub provides interactive dashboards which give easy access to more than 300,000 data points on smallholder families’ financial lives, drawn from nationally representative household surveys across six countries: Bangladesh Côte d’Ivoire Mozambique Nigeria Tanzania Uganda

Regulators play a significant role in catalyzing or impeding a country’s progress toward financial inclusion. By evaluating five domains of the regulatory environments in 55 countries (i.e., government and policy support, stability and integrity, products and outlets, consumer protection and infrastructure), the Global Microscope identifies each country’s current policies and regulations and notes which are…

Digitizing merchant payments represents a major opportunity for financial services providers in developing economies because small retailers around the world accept trillions of dollars in cash payments every year. The value of the data generated by digitizing those transactions is considerable and could be an even more compelling incentive to pursue merchant payments than direct…

This report by BIS examines the challenges, risks and benefits that global stablecoins may pose.

This podcast explores developments in the industry relating to the Internet of Things, data, AI and Machine Learning. It discusses what is fiction and what is possible and what we should be looking for in the future.

This article provides a discussion on some issues associated with digital finance – an area which has not been critically addressed in the literature. Digital finance and financial inclusion has several benefits to financial services users, digital finance providers, governments and the economy; notwithstanding, a number of issues still persist which if addressed can make…

The World FinTech Report 2019 from Capgemini and Efma explores how the future is moving to a shared marketplace where banks must think beyond open banking and transition to an impending phase called Open X. This is a shift from: Product to experience Ownership to shared access Assets to data Building/buying to partnerships

As new risks are impacting the insurance landscape, the World Insurance Report 2019 from Capgemini and Efma explores the opportunity for insurers to develop new, technologically-advanced products to provide comprehensive risk coverage and better manage shifting customer expectations.

This paper from ONOW Myanmar covers the results from a six-month pilot which was conducted in early 2019 through our digital platform Build3, which utilizes chatbot technology. For the pilot, ONOW partnered with USAID, Visa Myanmar, Yoma Bank and Ayeyarwaddy Farmers Bank to reach more than 160,000 users. The paper covers the methodology and insights…

The past two decades have seen a phenomenal change in the adoption of mobile and digital technology in emerging markets. As a result, the sector predicts that the number of unique mobile subscribers will reach 5.9 billion by 2025, equivalent to 71 percent of the world’s population; yet, a more significant opportunity lies in mobile…

How do financial services impact the lives of poor people? Though the global development community has debated this question for decades, we seem to be no closer to an answer today than we were when we started. A growing number of rigorous studies meant to clarify the impact debate have instead produced mixed — seemingly…

The Resilience in Action Series aims to bring development practitioners one step closer to bridging the gap between theory and practice for integrating a resilience lens in programming, answering questions such as: How does a resilience lens change the design of interventions in key sectors? How do we shift design and implementation of interventions to…

For Financial Inclusion Week 2019, CFI sought out a small group of financial inclusion thought leaders to comment and take a position on this year’s theme, “Financial Inclusion: For What?” CFI Director of Communications Virginia Moore sat down with Bobbi Gray (Grameen Foundation), Till Bruett (DAI), and Shivani Siroya (Tala) to discuss the theme and…

Banking Circle is committed to continually investigating where the current banking offering is failing businesses and providing real solutions that FinTechs and PSPs can offer to real businesses. As such, the banking infrastructure provider regularly carries out detailed research, which it shares with the industry to encourage conversation and collaboration to find solutions. The latest…

The second half of 2019 saw four new Communities of Practice (COP) being established and another re-established. China held its first COP meeting in Shanghai, which was attended by 70 students, 50 from the current CIDM course and 20 alumni. It was also fantastic to see the Lagos COP return thanks to a large group…

When Desire Nindjin joined MTN Cote d’Ivoire in 2006 after a six-year stint at EY as Financial Auditor, the world of digital financial services was still in its infancy (M-Pesa first launched in Kenya a year later).

Charity Chikumbe was at a United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) conference in Johannesburg when she attended a presentation by Digital Frontiers Institute CEO, Gavin Krugel.

In this report by Clearhaus, nine industry experts share their experience and give insights into how payments in Europe will change and become more digitalised.

This paper by the IMF offers empirical evidence that greater financial inclusion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can promote higher economic growth and employment, especially in the Middle East and Central Asia regions. Firstly the report shows that countries with higher SME financial inclusion exhibit more effective monetary policy transmission and tax collection. Secondly,…

This paper from IMF marks the launch of a new IMF series, Fintech Notes. Building on years of IMF staff work, it will explore pressing topics in the digital economy and be issued periodically. The series will carry work by IMF staff and will seek to provide insight into the intersection of technology and the…

During the past several years, market participants, regulators and policy makers have increasingly focused their attention on issues concerning sustainable finance in its many forms. These issues are particularly relevant for growth and emerging markets as they seek to develop capital markets in their jurisdictions. Accordingly, in late 2017, IOSCO’s Growth and Emerging Markets Committee…

Recent advances in digital technology and big data have allowed FinTech (financial technology) lending to emerge as a potentially promising solution to reduce the cost of credit and increase financial inclusion. However, machine learning (ML) methods that lie at the heart of FinTech credit have remained largely a black box for the nontechnical audience. This…

Will the 21st century see the rise of a cashless society? The introduction of credit cards, digital wallets and cryptocurrencies have led experts over the past decade to speculate on the progressive demise of physical money, with stakeholders such as banks, consumers and governments seemingly gaining from the change. If the world went cashless tomorrow,…

FinTechs in Europe, North America and Asia have caught the attention of many financial institutions and investors in recent years: the trends and effects of FinTechs in these markets have consequently been thoroughly analyzed. This report from EY aims to shed light on a market that exhibits tremendous potential for FinTech investments, but which has…

The World Payments Report 2019 from Capgemini is the leading source for data, trends and insights on global and regional non-cash payments, the key regulatory and industry initiatives (KRIIs), and today’s dynamic payments environment. This 15th edition analyzes the digital transformation across the global payments market as new market participants like BigTechs, emerging technologies, and…