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What Keeps People from Paying with Their Phones?

To find out why more people aren't going digital in Ghana, CGAP partnered with pay-as-you-go solar company PEG Africa and mobile network operator Tigo Ghana.

Transactions Want to Be Free

Imagine a world where anyone could move money instantly across providers at no cost. Three trends are making free transactions more likely today than ever before.

Traders in Refugee Camps: Overlooked Opportunity in Bulk Payments

Lolem Boyo Emilat is a trader in Kenya’s Kalobeyei settlement, where mobile payments have transformed her small business. Could bringing mobile money to more traders like Lolem be an overlooked opportunity to advance financial inclusion?

Innovation in Mobile Money: What Are the Risks?

As mobile money continues to evolve, new kinds of fraud are emerging. Here are some steps that providers and regulators can take to keep up.

How Do Mobile Money Fee Structures Impact the Poor?

Pricing data from leading mobile money providers shows significant diversity in pricing models.

Will Universal Basic Income Replace Safety Net Payments in India?

India is currently considering a universal basic income (UBI) scheme in which the government would guarantee a minimum income for all citizens. What are the key points of the UBI debate? What could UBI mean for financial inclusion in India?

A Public-Private Partnership to Digitize Bus Fares in Rwanda

Digitizing high-frequency or high-volume payment flows–especially to and from government–can support the growth of a national payments ecosystem and progress towards universal financial inclusion. In Rwanda, several initiatives are developing technology-enabled delivery of government services and digitization of corresponding payments.

Digital P2G Initiatives: 5 Best Practices for Financial Inclusion

Person-to-government (P2G) payments receive considerably less attention from the global financial inclusion community than payments such as person-to-person or government-to-person. A new report aims to address this gap and to provide a roadmap for future P2G payment digitization efforts.

Can a G2P Payment Connection Trigger Tax and Energy Reforms?

Governments are increasingly using payments and identity technology to shift cash-based transfer payments into digital channels. A new Centre for Global Development paper argues that exploiting the full range of policy levers enabled by these technologies can improve public service delivery and reduce poverty.

Accessible, Robust, Integrated: Identifying Good Payment Programs

An estimated 718 million recipients in developing economies are enrolled in cash transfer programs, more of which are going digital. This has not necessarily equaled greater financial inclusion. ISPA's Social Protection Payment Delivery Tool looks to make digital transfer programs more inclusive.

Advancing Financial Inclusion Through P2G Payment Digitization

Karandaaz Pakistan recently undertook the first-ever systematic review of digital person-to-government (P2G) payment efforts from across the globe. What did they find, and what are the implications for future P2G digitization efforts?

Digital Social Payments in India: Can the Challenges Be Overcome?

Envisioned as a digital revolution for government transfers, India's Direct Benefit Transfer program transfers government benefits into recipients' bank accounts. Three years in, the government continues to face challenges in digitizing transfers. Is there a way forward?

Mobile Money in Bangladesh Plateaus after Fast Start

Mobile money in Bangladesh had a fast start. However, recent data show that while use is still increasing, the rate of growth in transaction value and volume is tapering off. Researchers analyzed a number of possible explanations for this trend.

5 Ways an Emergency Mobile Wallet Can Lead to Financial Inclusion

Cash as aid offers recipients choice and dignity. The digitization of cash transfers can minimize risks of using cash in crisis environments and provide access to financial services that could help the poorest cope with shocks in the future.

When Mandating Financial Access for the Poorest Fails

Digitization of government-to-person (G2P) payments should be a financial inclusion “quick win,” but negative experiences with digital social payment programs sometimes have the adverse effect of steering low-income customers away from formal financial services. This doesn't have to be the case.

Linking Mobile Banking with Village Groups in Uganda

In Uganda, WSBI and PostBank Uganda sought to encourage active individual savings for village group members while simultaneously providing efficiency gains via group lending. The solution? PBU’s low-cost VSLA Group Account, which has reached over 500,000 members.

5 Consumer Risks in Digital Social Payments to the Poor

Despite excitement around the promising potential benefits of digital social payments, a new CGAP brief reveals risks and challenges that need to be addressed if DSPs are to achieve their intended outcomes.

The Impact of Shutting Down Mobile Money in Uganda

Citing a threat to national security, the Uganda Communications Commission ordered mobile network operators to disable Uganda's mobile money platforms ahead of February 2016 elections. How were customers, mobile money agents, and other businesses affected by this shutdown?

Lessons from Aggregator-Enabled Digital Payments in Uganda

To understand factors impacting aggregator profitability regarding digital bulk disbursements, we took a close look at a pilot in Uganda, where six USAID funded organizations tested digital payments to end recipients via payment aggregators.

The Business of Aggregators: A Changing Market

Aggregators work in the background to help businesses, governments and donors easily connect with a variety of payment services. But how do aggregators get off the ground, what is their size and reach, and how does the business model work?