Mobile Phone Banking to Reach Rural Mongolia
Microfinance pioneer XacBank to extend access to finance with support from CGAP
Washington, DC July 21, 2008 – As many as 300,000 Mongolians will be reached by a new mobile phone banking service to be launched by XacBank. The global microfinance body CGAP is supporting XacBank with technical assistance and funding.
“By offering banking services on mobile phones via a network of local merchants that will handle the cash, we hope that XacBank will be able to make it affordable for some of the forty percent of Mongolians who use only cash today to take advantage of secure financial services. This means that farmers and nomadic herders will have a safer place to store money," said Gautam Ivatury, Manager of CGAP’s Technology Program.
Mobile phone banking is the latest service to be pioneered by XacBank, which is Mongolia’s largest microfinance institution.
“Mongolia has one of the lowest population densities in the world - about one person per square kilometer - so mobile phone banking services will have a considerable impact in offering wider access, convenience, cost-efficiency, as well as increased speed and reliability for transactions, said Ganhuyag Ch. Hutagt, CEO of XacBank.”
The new service will extend the availability of deposits, withdrawals, loans, remittances, and cash transfers to rural locations.
About CGAP CGAP (The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) is the world's leading resource for the advancement of microfinance. CGAP provides the financial industry, governments and investors with objective information, expert opinion, and innovative solutions to effectively expand access to finance for poor people around the world. More information: www.cgap.org
About XacBank XacBank’s initiative will help identify viable business models that can overcome the constraints faced by financial service providers in reaching low-income customers. XacBank is a leading provider of development finance in Mongolia, delivering innovative products and services to every region of the country through both extensive branch network and technology based channels. www.xacbank.mn
