Blog

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 Topics discussed just 3 months ago can seem out of date today.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.

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.

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.

Time to Choose

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

The Allure of A Cashless Society

I’ve been intrigued to see several recent new stories spouting off about the grandiose vision of a cashless society. To a certain extent I thought we had moved past this debate. While recognizing it as desirable, this high and mighty goal seems somewhat unattainable, at least in the short to medium term.

Three Myths about SME Finance

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are again at the center of attention – and this is excellent news because in many countries these businesses are the backbone of the economy and they employ large numbers of people. Unfortunately, the environments in which SMEs operate are not always conducive for their growth and development.

Gold Backed Loans: Unlocking Liquidity for the Poor?

In some parts of South Asia there is a long standing tradition of accumulating gold as a preferred form of saving. Acquiring gold allows small amounts to be accumulated at different intervals; it is not easily lost or destroyed; it is small and lightweight compared to its value; and it is easily divisible into small units which can be sold off as needed.

The Arab Spring: Risks and Opportunities

If more enabling operating environments are the opportunity of the Arab Spring, let’s bet practitioners will deploy innovative ways to offer financial access to those who need it most.

The Poor Need Better Payment Services

Poor people’s need for domestic payments is often large, whether it is spurred by migrant labor remittances, informal support networks of friends and family, government welfare payments, or utility payments.

Counting SMEs and Their Demand for Financing

How difficult can it be to count how many micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) there are in the world, and to estimate what their demand for financing really is?

Measures to Overcome Revolution-Induced Problems

The poor are always the first losers in times of economic downturn and the micro-enterprise sector in Tunisia has been hard hit.

Financial Capability at the Base of the Pyramid

Financial inclusion is expanding, bringing access to financial products and services to millions of previously unbanked, low-income consumers. Managing your money also brings risks however, many of which are difficult for even experienced consumers to handle, and much more for new market entrants.