Blog

Financial Services for the Poor: Priorities for 2012

An estimated 2.7 billion working-age adults globally at the base of the economic pyramid have no access to formal financial services and, instead, have to rely on informal financial mechanisms that are typically incomplete, less reliable, and considerably more expensive.

Branchless Banking Interoperability and Agent Exclusivity

This is the third post in our series on interoperability and related issues in branchless banking and mobile money. Read the first post that presented the overall framework for the discussion and the second post that looked at the interconnection of mobile money platforms. Today, we discuss interoperability at the agent level as it relates to agent exclusivity. We include agent exclusivity in the topic of interoperability because it raises many of the same issues as platform interoperability.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Predictions for 2012

The year 2011 was not particularly easy for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA). What are some of the issues that will be key for the ECA microfinance sector in 2012?

Three Wishes for Latin America in 2012

In 2012 with the focus shifting away from “hot-spots” and yes/no debates on microfinance, and hopefully towards greater product diversity and complete financial ecosystems, Latin America is poised to assume a leadership role.

The Next Step for Mobile Money Providers: Moving Toward Sustainability

To commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the Haitian earthquake, we are running a few blogs on the mobile money industry that has developed in Haiti over the past two years. The consulting firm Dalberg has recently completed three pieces of research on the Haitian market as part of Haiti Mobile Money Initiative (HMMI).

Can Mobile Money Transform a Country?

Over the past week, the world has been commemorating the 2nd anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. Today and tomorrow we will have two guest blog posts on the mobile money sector that has emerged over the last two years in Haiti. Today’s post is written by two colleagues at USAID.

Platform-level Interconnection in Branchless Banking

Platform-level interconnection is what most people have in mind when they think of interoperability in branchless banking. When we speak of interoperable platforms, we are referring to platforms that permit the transfer of funds from one mobile account to the mobile account of another service provider.

A LiFi World

A LiFi world is therefore one in which every person has an electronic store of value which they can easily use to make and receive payments in real time. Just like in places with reliable on-grid electricity, we can turn on a light on-demand, knowing that it will work and that the cost of flicking the switch will be small in relation to the benefits.

Interoperability in Branchless Banking and Mobile Money

At the end of the day, we suspect interoperable systems will accelerate financial inclusion by allowing customers to use the infrastructure of multiple service providers to access their accounts. The question is how best do we get there?

Financial Services for the Poor: Reflections on 2011

Building on the success and the experience to date, and learning from new challenges and insights, we started executing against a broader vision of financial inclusion: A vision that reaffirms the basic tenet that the right access to the right formal financial service helps households, microbusinesses, and the economy as a whole and a vision that recognizes that financial services are not an end in and of themselves but ultimately must improve household welfare.

Marked Progress in the Transparency of Cross-Border Funding

Transparency on funding for microfinance made significant progress over the last decade. There are strong reasons to believe that transparency contributes to more effective and more responsible funding.

The Promises and Risks of Commercializing Microfinance

The performance of the industry has mitigated and obscured the tensions created by commercialization and accessing mainstream capital markets.

Top 10 Posts from the CGAP Technology Blog in 2011

One of the exciting and yet challenging aspects of the branchless banking industry is how fast things change. Topics discussed just 3 months ago can seem out of date today. That’s why it’s fun to look back over the topics we blogged about in 2011 starting from last January to see how the discussion has evolved over the last 12 months.

The Great Financial Inclusion Juggling Act

The sheer magnitude of the financial inclusion gap –70% of households in developing countries are unbanked— calls for pretty radical solutions. We need to overcome an access barrier (last mile infrastructure), a relevance barrier (right-sized products and services) and a usability barrier (friendly and intuitive customer experience).

Technology Challenges Accompany Voluntary Savings

Our discussions on branchless banking on this blog do not often touch on the role of microfinance institutions (MFIs). The main actors in this space seem to be mobile network operators, commercial banks, larger microfinance banks and technology companies. We have done a bit of thinking on microfinance and mobile banking, notably in this Focus Note and at this Virtual Conference.

The Decade of the Client

An exciting dialogue is underway that is leading to a collective agreement that putting clients at the center of all decisions is key.

Reflections on the Commercialization of Microfinance

Various voluntary efforts for MFIs to behave better in Andhra Pradesh went unheeded. Unfortunately, these voluntary commitments were never honored, resulting in a metastasized problem in AP in 2010.

Worth Reading: One Book, Two Papers, One Article, and a Blog Post

We asked CGAP staff to share their recommendations for the best financial inclusion-related reading of the year. Below is a small selection of the books, articles, and blog posts that made the cut.

From Arab Spring to Real Opportunities for the Poor

Microfinance industries in the region have been supported by governments as a form of benevolent neglect.

Time to Choose

We need to focus on the real underlying issue and thinking that it is commercialization that is the problem.