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Can Retailers and MNOs Provide More Efficient Financial Services?

When it comes to financial inclusion, retail has been one of the late driving forces in Latin America. In the past, banks have been unable to cater to over 50% percent of households in the region. Retailers have filled some of this gap and have started offering formal financial services to millions of previously unbanked customers.

A Better Way to Deliver Aid

To increase the speed of delivery and put decision-making power into the hands of beneficiaries, the international aid community is transitioning away from the distribution of in-kind goods to the direct transfer of cash payments to assist those in need. The Visa Innovation Grants Program is taking this one step further by supporting innovation and implementation of electronic payments.

From Social Protection to Financial Inclusion and Beyond

The idea that linking social protection payments to financial inclusion initiatives can reduce poverty is gaining increasing traction. In February of this year, CGAP published a paper on Social Cash Transfers and Financial Inclusion. In April, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) held a workshop examining the potential of financially-inclusive electronic G2P payments. One of the core goals of the Better Than Cash Alliance, launched in September by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citi, Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network, UN Capital Development Fund, USAID, and Visa Inc., is to reduce the reliance on cash for G2P and other transfers in order to improve the effectiveness of aid.

Is M-PESA Replacing Cash in Kenya?

How far away is Kenya from the goal of cash-lite? Between July and August 2011, Bankable Frontier Associates (BFA) conducted an intensive field study within an urban and a rural pilot area to study the mode and size of intra-day cash flows at the customer-to-merchant interface and the merchant-to-supplier interface. This research finds that despite Kenya’s reputation for being a leader in mobile money, cash is still king.

Beyond the Mzansi Account in South Africa – Targeting Usage

Between 2004 and 2008 the percentage of banked South African adults increased from 46% to 63%. This feat was driven primarily by the six million Mzansi accounts that were opened over that period – two-thirds of which by people that had never before had a bank account. However, approximately 30% of these were inactive. This post explores the importance of understanding the financial needs of low income clients, and how business models need to adapt to meet those needs on an economically viable basis.

Cash Management Innovation in Latin America

An ongoing trend in Latin America is bringing forward an innovative solution to the problem of cash management through a far-reaching network of small retailers who process cash payments in real time. Could this be a way to forge a Latin American alternative path to address the problem of liquidity management?

The Potential of Electronic Money for Social Good

The efforts of the global development community to harness the power of electronic money for the social good got a big shot in the arm last week. On the sidelines of the 2012 UN General Assembly a coalition of leading countries, global NGO’s, development agencies and the private sector came together and formed the “Better-Than-Cash” Alliance. This coalition can make a real difference.

Designing Financial Products for “Bolsa Familia” Beneficiaries

Closer examination of the financial lives of the 13 million households receiving Bolsa Familia, shows huge variations in the way they manage their money. Although commonly grouped under the single heading of Bolsa Familia recipients, this part of Brazilian society is actually a collection of sub-groups with different financial needs and wants.

A Trip Around the Corner: Financial Inclusion in the U.S.

Here at CGAP we love to draw global lessons about financial inclusion from our interaction with stakeholders in various countries. But we often neglect learning from the latest innovations in the developed world since we assume that the differences between these countries and the ones we are most interested in are too great. Last year, a few of us attended the annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum organized by the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) and returned again this year to learn about the latest innovations in the U.S. market.

From Protection to Inclusion: Shifting to Cashless Payments

All around the world, social protection is evolving into much more than a safety net for the poor. It is becoming a tool for financial inclusion and economic opportunity. Interestingly, stories like these, and the trends behind them, were barely on the radar of the global financial inclusion field three years ago when CGAP published the first official estimate of financially-inclusive G2P payments. Since then, government, donor and NGO efforts to link financial access to government payments has become a swiftly growing movement.

Branchless Banking in India: More Reasons for Optimism

In keeping with this optimistic view of a still uncertain India venture, we conclude with three more positive items to highlight. Two reflect new changes by the government and one goes back to the fundamentals.

Join CGAP’s Event and Webcast Today on New G2P Focus Note

Join us to discuss the findings from the recent CGAP Focus Note, Social Cash Transfers and Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Four Countries.

Is There a Business Case for Offering Services to G2P Recipients?

The biggest challenge when it comes to the business case for banks is that the amount per grant payment is small, and as client research has shown, very little of each payment is left behind in the form of savings.

Will G2P Recipients Use Financial Services if Offered to Them?

Our recently released Focus Note on Social Cash Transfers and Financial Inclusion looks at the evidence from four large and well established programs in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and South Africa to attempt to answer three broad questions that are relevant to different stakeholder groups.

CGAP Releases Paper on G2P Payments and Financial Inclusion

Branchless banking is, fundamentally, a business built on high-volume, low-value transactions.

Overview of the G2P Payments Sector in India

We often write on this blog about the potential to link government-to-person (G2P) payments to financial services. We also closely follow branchless banking developments in India and have recently shared our take on the market. So imagine our excitement when we can talk about both together!

So Where Are We in the Link Between G2P and Financial Services?

The link to financial inclusion is one that can often get forgotten in the quest for payment efficiency.

The Cost-Benefit of Electronic Payment Systems: The Case of India

Electronic payments hold particular promise, and the key question is: What is the cost-benefit for a government to connect all households to an electronic payment system.

G2P Starts with Government to the Poorest in Fiji

Fiji’s government is now insisting that all communal land lease payments, mostly to rural communities, must move to electronic payment. Financial institutions, government ministries and Central Banks around the region have their eyes trained on Fiji, watching the latest evidence of viable financial inclusion efforts unfold in the Pacific.

Delivering Government Payments in the Wilds of Northern Kenya

Social transfer programmes all over the globe are recognizing the value of paying cash grants through some form of financial “account”, accounts increasingly administered by a network of payment agents.