Staff Directory

William Cook

Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Based in Nairobi, William Cook focuses on payments, financial market infrastructure, and digital business models. Before joining CGAP, William held a variety of roles in financial services, including six years with Ernst & Young LLP in the organization’s advisory and audit practices.

By William Cook

Research

(Un)stacking Financial Market Infrastructure

Challenges around scaling effective financial infrastructures are not small, but when addressed effectively, a system can emerge that improves the value of financial services for poor people.
Blog

Cheaper Remittances: How Malaysia and the Philippines Paved the Way

Globally, people pay an average fee of 6.9 percent to send money to family and others abroad. In one of Asia’s largest remittance corridors, between Malaysia and the Philippines, the average fee is only 3.7 percent. Smart policies have played an important role in bringing prices down.
Blog

How Do Kenyans Really Use M-PESA?

Transaction data shows mobile money agents are more like petrol stations than barber shops, with few customers showing loyalty to particular agents.
Research

National Payments Corporation of India and the Remaking of Payments

The story of National Payments Corporation of India sheds light on the quick and robust transformation of India’s payment systems. The lessons learned from the NPCI success story can be useful for policy makers in financial inclusion and other markets.
Blog

Should Funders Support Switches for Mobile Payment Interoperability?

Mobile payment switches aren’t the only path to interoperable financial systems – and they aren’t always the best path. Here are three questions funders should ask before they commit to building a switch.