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Highlights and Headlines for January 2011

The news wires have been busy with the recent announcement of partnerships and joint ventures in the Indian branchless banking market. India’s largest public sector bank, the State Bank of India, announced a joint venture with the mobile operator Bharti Airtel to offer mobile banking. Meanwhile, India’s largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank Ltd, announced its tie-up with Vodafone Essar to bank the unbanked via the mobile phone.

Highlights from the CGAP Technology Blog – October 2010

The launch of TigoPesa in Tanzania was the headline on our blog starting in October.

Mobile Banking for Those with No Mobile

Safaricom’s M-Pesa is now so well known in the mobile banking world that it has come to be accepted by some as a blueprint for mobile financial services. The service relies on the phone in the hands of the customer (now more than 12 million) to perform transactions and the phone in the hands of the agent (all 20,000 of them) to credit and debit accounts.

Highlights from the CGAP Technology Blog – September 2010

We started out September with a virtual conference on the topic of a new CGAP Focus Note Microfinance & Mobile Banking: The Story So Far. We invited guest bloggers from the MFIs featured in the paper to share their learnings from implementing mobile banking in their daily operations. Here SMEP consultant George Kinyanjui explains how group dynamics have changed with the use of M-PESA.

How Should Donors Support Microfinance in Pakistan Post-Flood?

The floods have hit Pakistan hard. Over 2 million homes have been damaged or destroyed, and $1 billion is at risk of being lost by the financial sector in the region most affected.

Pakistan Floods —Branchless Banking Responds

CGAP’s partner in Pakistan, Tameer Microfinance Bank, and their parent company, Telenor Pakistan, have made it possible for people in Pakistan who may not have internet access to make donations to relief organizations using their EasyPaisa mobile banking platform and have removed the usual transfer fees.

Are Banks the Bad Guys in the Mobile Money Innovation Debate?

Maybe the next wave of innovation will still be related to the channel, but just a different channel. Is the hype around mobile technology really panning out?