Recent Blogs
Priorities for Branchless Banking (Part 1 of 3)
It is easy to foresee that in the future normal neighborhood stores will be used by poor people everywhere to conduct basic financial transactions, that technology based on real-time communications will be used to make those transactions reliable and secure, and further that providers will increasingly rely on people’s own mobile phones rather than on deploying cards and dedicated point of sale terminals.
Microfinance & M-banking Virtual Conference Recap
Thank you to everyone who participated in CGAP’s virtual conference over the past two days on the topic of microfinance and mobile banking, coinciding with the release of our latest Focus Note Microfinance and Mobile Banking: The Story So Far.
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?
How Can Regulators Protect Funds Held by Mobile Money Providers?
The success of mobile money services such as M-PESA has raised the question of how to regulate nonbanks—most notably mobile network operators, which are often well-placed to reach customers with affordable financial services due to their existing customer base, marketing capabilities, network of agents, physical distribution infrastructure, and experience with high-volume, low-value transactions.
What Does Microborrower Behavior Tell Us About Impact?
Given how much we still don’t know about what kind of impact all this investment is producing, further research makes pretty good sense.
Is There an App to Track M-PESA’s Growth?
Though many say it will be years (or never) by the time near-field communication (NFC) technology gets into the hands of the mass market customer, at least one very notable handset maker appears to be making moves towards integrating NFC into its future products.
Mobile Money’s Innovation Crisis
MNOs and device manufactures have been excellent at innovation and product design. Oftentimes taking the lead from poor customers, they are quick to spot new trends and to harness them into new products and services.
SKS IPO Success and Excess
By market standards, the SKS IPO is a great success. Institutional investors have over-subscribed their allocations by 13 times, and the company’s valuation of USD 1.5 billion came in at the top end of the offer band price.
How Can Microfinance Take Advantage of Mobile Banking?
A wide gulf separates those institutions that are in countries with existing m-banking services and those that are not.
Learn How M-PESA Reached 10 Million Kenyans in 3 Years
We write a lot about M-PESA. That’s because it is the most successful mobile money service launched (so far).
Join CGAP on Aug. 2 for a World-Class Panel on Mobile Money
On Monday, Aug. 2 CGAP’s own Kabir Kumar will take the stage at “Tech@State: Mobile Money,” an event hosted by the U.S. State Department in Washington with an exciting line-up of mobile money practitioners from around the globe.
Change vs. Impact
How can changes in the lives of microfinance clients best be measured? How does that differ from tracking impact?
What Should We Look for with the SKS IPO?
The most important and contentious issues about the IPO will take more time for us all to weigh carefully. It will be particularly important to see how the proceeds of several Mutual Benefit Trusts are used given the philanthropic purpose for which these MBTs were first created.
For Mobile Banking, Lessons from Research into Illiteracy
The UN estimates that there are approximately 800 million illiterate consumers worldwide and in addition not all consumers use products that support their primary language. To what extent do designs need to cater for, or specifically design for the illiterate?
What Good Is Mobile Banking if the Phone Isn’t Charged?
Driven by mobile phone customer needs, neighborhood vendors with mains electricity and/or access to a power generator typically offer mobile phone charging as a value added service.
Mobile Banking Iptake: Sim Card vs. Phone, Ownership vs. Use
Is it possible to experience the core benefits of mobile phone ownership without having a mobile phone?
The Next Decade of Microfinance
As we celebrate 15 years of CGAP, we are also reflecting upon where the industry has come, and where CGAP can be most useful in helping to advance financial access for the world’s poor.
Kiva.org Meets Facebook in China?
Casey Wilson is the Co-founder and CEO of Wokai, the first person-to-person microfinance platform for China. Wokai means “I start” in Mandarin. What’s happening in China? China has the second largest potential microcredit demand in the world, next to India. Yet the total loan portfolio of China’s non-government microfinance sector is only $200 million, in contrast to India, whose microfinance sector is projected to reach $3 billion by the beginning of 2010.
Virtual Conference Recap
CGAP and Grameen Foundation would like to thank you for participating in this week’s virtual conference. There have been a lot of valuable contributions and new ideas which I hope we’ll all continue to explore at our respective organizations. While the official conference period has ended, comments will remain open and we invite you to continue sharing your thoughts on these topics.