Blog

Lessons on Leadership: Turning Banking Upside Down

Financial service providers shouldn't try to be all things to all customers, says Brian Richardson, founding director and CEO of South Africa-based WIZZIT. Watch the video interview for insights on how financial service providers can become more customer-centric.

Smartphone-Led Digital Finance: Three Areas to Watch

The rapid uptake of smartphones stands to enable a transformational opportunity for digital finance, also raises important questions concerning security and privacy.

Lessons on Leadership: Customer-Centric Measures Matter

“If you start early, it gets into the DNA of the institution," says Radhakrishnan, the CEO of Janalakshmi, on an organization's journey to customer centricity. Watch the video interview for insights on how financial service providers can become more customer-centric.

New Tools to Accommodate Old Financial Habits: Key for DFS Usage

Digital services that are able to replicate what poor people already do informally, in everyday life, may be critical to starting new customers on a path to using money in new ways.

Ghana: DFS Taking Off Amid New Regulations and Market Momentum

Ghana looks increasingly poised to assert its regional leadership in digital financial services in West Africa.

Deposit Insurance for Digital Financial Products: 3 Approaches

Countries have adopted three approaches to addressing digital "deposit-like" products when it comes to including them in the deposit insurance system.

Rethinking What it Takes to Lead Customer-Centric Organizations

More financial service providers are changing the way they do business and adopting a customer-centric model. What does that take? Hear from heads of companies who know - who took part in the CGAP Leadership Series on Customer Centricity.

Consumer Risks and Rewards Amid Increased Competition in Kenya

In Kenya, product development and the growth of agent networks are moving in the right direction to provide customers with more options, but we must also remain mindful of the risks these developments pose to customers.

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.

Cutting the Cost of Remittances

For migrant workers, the costs of remitting money remains high. However, three trends that could disrupt the remittances status quo are emerging.

Lessons Learned from Digital Microinsurance ‘Sprinters’

A number of mobile insurance initiatives have achieved exceptional scale in a short period of time. There are at least 7 keys to success.

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.

Building Resilient Households in Burkina Faso

Freedom from Hunger conducted a 7-month project using the diaries of rural households in Burkina Faso to gauge how formal, non-formal and informal financial products affect household resilience.

Sprint or Limp? Investing In Customer Service to Achieve Success

Investing in first class platforms and agent training can be the difference between providers of digital financial services who "sprint" or "limp" across the finish line.

Five Ways Providers Can Do Digital Finance Better

A new Focus Note from CGAP recommends five core priorities for digital financial service providers to address to improve the safety, reliability, and performance of their products, channels, and systems.

Fine Tuning Kaleido: A Key Step for Customer-Centricity

Janalakshmi Financial Services, Jana Foundation, CGAP and Innovation Labs partnered to develop a tool called Kaleido that provides the foundation for building a customer-centric organization. An initial survey of the tool offers several key findings.

Seven Customer Risks that Need Attention Now

CGAP’s latest Focus Note identifies seven key risk areas for customers of digital financial services.

myAgro, HCD, and Supporting Smallholder Savings in Senegal

myAgro, CGAP, and IDEO.org are partnering to use human-centered design to further align product offerings in Senegal with smallholders’ behaviors, needs, and aspirations.

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.