Technology

Microfinance and Mobile Banking

July 19, 2010

This Focus Note explores the various roles that MFIs can play in m-banking and the potential benefits MFIs and their customers expect to gain from pursuing m-banking.

Banking the Poor via G2P Payments

December 21, 2009

In this Focus Note, we look at government-to-person (G2P) payments, which have the potential to become a vehicle for extending financial inclusion and improving the welfare of poor people.

Mobile Money in the Philippines

December 18, 2009

This Brief, a joint effort of CGAP and the GSM Association, discusses the results of the first study on mobile money and the unbanked—those without access to formal financial services—estimated to be almost 4 billion worldwide.

Scenarios for Branchless Banking in 2020

November 3, 2009

This Focus Note discusses the 2009 CGAP and DFID scenario-building project on using branchless banking to reach the unserved majority by 2020.

Poor People Using Mobile Financial Services

August 4, 2009

Insights into how poor people use M-PESA, its impact on their lives, and some unexpected consequences.

Stability of Small Balance Deposits

June 10, 2009

Small balance demand deposits from poor clients are viewed as a particularly volatile class of funding. This is one reason some MFIs are concerned about using deposits to fund their lending operations.

The Role of Mobile Operators in Expanding Access to Finance

May 12, 2009

The fact that mobile phones can be used as transactional devices doesn’t necessarily mean that the mobile operator needs to “own” the financial services.

Going Cashless at the Point of Sale

December 19, 2008

Storing and sending value electronically is something many people living in developed countries take for granted because making electronic transactions are part of everyday life.

Realizing the Potential of Branchless Banking

October 20, 2008

Should we start conceiving of retail payment networks as a utility much as we think of access to water, electricity, or phones?

Banking on Mobiles: Why, How, for Whom?

July 9, 2008

This Focus Note examines how banks can translate the potential of mobile phones into greater financial access for poor people.

Banking Through Networks of Retail Agents

May 1, 2008

This Focus Note looks at banking through networks of retail agents. It addresses the idea that, to achieve universal access, banks will need to adapt their systems to a low-value, high-volume transactional environment and to build more flexible, scalable retail networks of points of service.

Being Able to Make (Small) Deposits and Payments, Anywhere

April 1, 2008

This Focus Note presents an alternative, systemic approach to branchless banking in which there is no need for a bank to have a contractual relationship with any of the retail outlets through which it is absorbing deposits or meeting liquidity needs of its customers.

The Early Experience with Branchless Banking

April 1, 2008

This Focus Note presents CGAP's observations on its early experiences with branchless banking. It addresses each of the elements and players in the branchless banking delivery chain, including customers, financial service providers, agents, products, and technology platforms.

Extending Financial Services with Banking Agents

April 1, 2008

This Brief provides a quick look at the growing use of banking agents to extend financial services to low-income and poor people.

Regulating Transformational Branchless Banking

January 1, 2008

This Focus Note is based on assessments of policy and regulation in seven key countries. Current regulation tends to be both over- and underprotective, and policy will determine not only where branchless banking is allowed, but also which business models turn out to make economic sense -- and how far they will go in reaching poor people.

Use of Agents in Branchless Banking for the Poor

October 1, 2006

This Focus Note examines the experience of five pioneering countries -- Brazil, India, South Africa, the Philippines, and Kenya -- where agent-assisted branchless banking that targets poor customers is already a reality. It introduces the main issues involved in regulating branchless banking, particularly regarding the use of retail agents.

Using Technology to Build Inclusive Financial Systems

January 1, 2006

Some of the innovations commercial banks need to service poor clients may be found in information and communications technologies. This Focus Note addresses the following questions: Can banking technologies, applied innovatively in developing countries, make microfinance profitable for formal financial institutions? Will they reduce costs to such an extent that banks could profitably serve even those whom MFIs have mostly excluded to date, such as very poor and remote rural customers? Will these customers be comfortable using technology?

Mobile-Phone Banking and Low-Income Customers

January 1, 2006

This paper presents the first public findings on how low-income people view and use m-banking, using results of a survey of 515 low-income individuals in South Africa. Three hundred of those surveyed do not use m-banking, while 215 are customers of WIZZIT, a startup mobile banking provider. WIZZIT targets the 16 million South Africans who lack or have difficulty accessing formal banking services.