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MTN Uganda Opens Up Mobile Money APIs

Uganda's largest telco just opened APIs that enable local developers to build apps that leverage its popular mobile money platform. Here are some lessons learned from MTN Uganda's open APIs journey so far.

What APIs Are Digital Financial Services Providers Opening?

What types of APIs are digital financial service providers opening in developing countries? CGAP has been keeping track and spotting trends.

Open APIs in Digital Finance: How to Start Engaging Developers

To entice third-party app developers to innovate with APIs, digital financial services providers should start thinking of developers as customers and provide the right kinds of resources.

East African Interoperability: Dispatches from the Home of M-Pesa

Kenyans can now send money between the country's two largest digital wallet services, Airtel and M-Pesa, the latest step toward interoperability in East Africa.

Connecting the Dots: Interoperability and Technology

For interoperability to work, technology must do more than move transactions from Point A to Point B. It must be optimized to ensure security, encourage use, promote innovation and handle the inevitable time when something goes wrong.

Balancing the Economics of Interoperability in Digital Finance

Interoperability in digital payments hinges on more than the right technology. It also requires the right balance of economic incentives for participants.

Rules of the Road: Interoperability and Governance

Payment schemes like Visa and Mastercard emerged from banks agreeing to the terms needed to safely and efficiently exchange payments. What rules should digital payments providers follow?

Interoperability and Customer Value

Interoperability makes it possible for customers to transact freely without compatibility issues, but its benefits don't end there. Here are three ways interoperability can advance financial inclusion.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls Along the Journey to Open APIs

Payments providers can grow revenues by allowing third-parties to create apps that leverage digital payment platforms, but the potential for reward comes with risk. Taking a "maturity model" approach can help providers avoid common pitfalls.

Open APIs in Digital Finance: We Opened Up, Here’s What Happened

Is “going open” worth the risk for payment providers? A money transfer business in India shares how allowing other companies to deliver financial services based on its systems has fueled its recent growth.

India Stack: Major Potential, but Mind the Risks

India’s new financial infrastructure could connect hundreds of millions of people to financial services, but at its core is a biometric ID system that has stirred controversy around data privacy and security. What are the risks, and what can be done to minimize them?

Should Other Countries Build Their Own India Stack?

India’s new financial infrastructure, including its biometric ID system, has been making headlines lately. But what exactly is "India Stack"? Should other countries replicate it?

5 Keys to Addressing the Needs of API Consumers

Learn about five steps digital financial services providers can take to design open API products that appeal to third-party developers in their markets.

Are Open Platforms Smart Business for Payments Providers?

Many industries have seen businesses grow after opening APIs. Learn why open APIs could also be a boon for financial services providers in emerging markets.

India Has Built the Rails — Will Passengers Climb Aboard?

India has put in place virtually all of the supply-side factors that should make low-cost financial services available for all. But the big question right now is the customer. The next year will be telling in how the adoption of digital financial services unfolds.

Interoperability and Financial Inclusion: The Regulator’s Role

Interoperability can greatly expand the reach and usefulness of financial services for the poor. What do regulators need to know about the complex interplay between interoperability and financial inclusion?

Interoperability: More Than a Technological Challenge

For most practitioners, interoperability brings to mind the technical tools that allow modern payment systems to work together. CGAP’s new global scan on digital financial services interoperability makes it clear that exchanging payments is about much more than technical connections.

Just How Open is Safaricom’s Open API?

In September 2015, Safaricom announced that it had opened its M-Pesa platform to allow developers to create next-generation solutions on the platform. But just how open is the platform?

Partnership: Missing Ingredient to Mobile Money APIs

Open APIs bring the promise of expanding the reach and benefits of financial services for the unbanked. But there remain no real examples of widely adopted open APIs for mobile money.

Why Open APIs Matter: Tech Partnerships Power Development

The potential for open APIs to drive innovation in the mobile money space is tremendous. There are several key elements crucial to the success of any open API ecosystem.