Mobile Money and Interoperability: Competition vs. Financial Inclusion?
A new study shows that interoperability has contrasting effects for financial inclusion in Africa. While it helps lower fees, it also reduces geographical coverage, so how to strike the right balance?
Bringing Agent Banking to Rural Women’s Self-Help Groups in India
While the spread of agent networks throughout rural India has helped bring banking to many people’s doorsteps, this type of service was inaccessible for informal groups until the recent spread of a new technical solution called Dual Authentication.
Agent Gender Matters, but How to Recruit and Retain Women Agents?
This blog post shares four strategies to help FSPs overcome the obstacles they face in onboarding female agents and create an environment that encourages women to join and thrive as agents.
A Win for Women in Rwanda
Mobile money – and concerted efforts by government and mobile money operators to promote it - has helped reduce the financial inclusion gender gap. But more needs to be done.
Towards a More Sustainable Livelihood for Business Correspondent Agents
A new pilot explores the possibilities for agents in rural India to include assisted e-commerce among the services they offer.
Four Ways to Design Agent Networks That Work for Women
Innovations around agent networks present an opportunity to significantly improve women’s experiences and help build their confidence and access to digital financial services.
Informed Design: A Case Study Series (WomenSave)
The first in a new case study series from FinEquity on informed design and digital financial services (DFS). This study examines product and service design by WomenSave, an organization targeting poor (living on less than $2 a day) women in underserved areas of Uganda through financial literacy training and financial advisory services, access to mobile money and goal-based savings plans.
Informed Design: A Case Study Series (Lucy)
The second installment in a new case study series from FinEquity on informed design and digital financial services (DFS). This study examines product and service design by Lucy, a neobank for entrepreneurial women—specifically Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore—providing DFS and business-building tools and training through a mobile app to help them start and grow their businesses.
How To Get a Historic Bilateral Deal to Share Agent Banking Infrastructure
Scale2Save partners FINCA and Centenary Bank in Uganda go from competition to cooperation, sharing service-distribution infrastructure for the benefit of end-user low-income customers.
The Resilience of Mobile Money in Sub-Saharan Africa
Quick responses by providers and regulators in the region helped mobile money keep growing despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Support for agent networks and more flexible on-boarding practices were key.