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Aggregators: The Secret Sauce to Digital Financial Expansion

Aggregators are key players in the digital financial services ecosystem, but primarily operate in the background. What exactly is their role and why are they important?

Four Ways to Boost the Impact of India’s Direct Benefit Transfers

The Indian government is digitizing payments to beneficiaries of government subsidies, seeking to build a digital payment connection with every Indian household. How can these payments be combined with other efforts to help pull people out of poverty?

Small Business Finance and Financial Inclusion in Latin America

Limited acceptance of digital payments and high fees associated with using such services are two obstacles to greater financial inclusion in Latin American countries. Can these issues be solved at the retailer level, rather than the individual level?

How Hard Is It to Use Mobile Money as a Rural Bangladeshi Woman?

Women in Bangladesh have one of the lowest rates of mobile money usage in the world. Does the dearth of usage indicate a lack of appropriate products and services? Just how hard is it to use mobile money if you are a rural Bangladeshi woman?

Making Mobile Money Accessible in Pakistan

Mobile wallets could have a revolutionary impact on financial inclusion in Pakistan. However, success of this channel hinges on matching the abilities of the end users with appropriately designed products.

Pakistan: Is Mobile Money a Viable Alternative to Banking?

There is more to financial inclusion than convenience. In Pakistan, for mobile financial services to maximize their financial inclusion benefits, providers need to offer a wider variety of services.

The Promise of Mobile Money in Pakistan

Mobile money - through over the counter services and mobile wallets - is helping to drive financial inclusion in Pakistan.

Payment Innovations in Turkey: Not (Yet) Reaching the Unbanked

Innovations on payment systems in Turkey have the potential to move beyond the current reach of bank accounts and cards.

Merchants and Agents: Apples and Oranges?

Digital financial services providers that pursue mobile merchant payments are creating acquiring networks of merchants able and willing to accept payment for goods and services. How can they build on existing agent networks?

How to Drive Merchant Payments? Build Solutions Merchants Want

When value-added services are added to merchant payment solutions, does usage increase?

Mobile Merchant Payments: The Next Battleground?

In order to take off, mobile payments offerings need to be not only as good as cash, but decidedly better in at least one respect.

Should Your Friend Be Your Banker? Digital Models Test the Waters

A recent study by CGAP identified three Person to Person (P2P) business models that could be applicable to underbanked populations in developing countries and help them move up the financial ladder.

Mobile Money in Bangladesh: Still a Long Way to Go

Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing mobile money markets in the world. Yet, mobile financial services in Bangladesh have a lot of room to grow before they can claim any wide national impact.

DaviPlata: Taking Mobile G2P Payments to Scale in Colombia

DaviPlata, a mobile wallet offered by Banco Davivienda in Colombia, is an application helping to shift social safety net payments – often paid in cash – to digital delivery.

India Digitizes its Merchants in Partnership with the U.S.

A partnership between the U.S. and India will focus on commercial and policy solutions to spur India’s nearly 10 million merchants to accept electronic payments.

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.

Can Open APIs Accelerate the Digital Finance Ecosystem?

Open APIs have the potential to provide more opportunities to the financially excluded, allowing users to make and receive secure, convenient, and affordable payments.

The ‘Ripple’ Effect: Why an Open Payments Infrastructure Matters

As the payment sector contemplates new infrastructure, lessons from open infrastructure approaches give an indication of how to remove barriers in financial services and foster innovation and growth in payments.

PMJDY: Improved Financial Inclusion, But Roadblocks Remain

MicroSave has conducted a study on the progress of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), arguably the largest financial inclusion drive in the world.

Mobile Money Moves Forward in Uganda Despite Legal Hurdles

Despite unfavorable financial sector laws, Uganda is among the most successful countries in Africa with regards to mobile financial services (MFS).