Financial Inclusion- News and Views - November 2013

 

November 2013

 

The RBI has announced a pilot that will go live by end-March 2014 to study the technological and operational feasibility of allowing cash pay-out from non-bank issued PPIs. This ushers in a new phase in the financial inclusion mission in India, where non-banks are being given a larger role. There are many aspects to look into while opening up this space to non-banks and this month’s lead stories focus on the growing trend towards mobile money worldwide: a) a reference guide by GSMA for telcos on defining efficient Key Performance Indicators to ensure sustainable commercial growth with the objective of inclusion, b) the preliminary results of GSMA’s 2013 Mobile Money Adoption Survey show that adoption of mobile money services by customers is rising and an increasing number of services are attaining scale, and c) Michelle Kaffenberger’s blog post on mobile money for small businesses that analyses data from four countries to show that commercial opportunities for mobile money exist in all these four markets, each country has a different market profile and sustained efforts can help small businesses make the transition away from cash-based transactions.

 
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Lead Stories

 

KPIs for Mobile Money: A Reference Guide

This insightful reference guide by GSMA focuses on a very important tool that MNOs use to link their strategic objectives with daily activities and operations – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). It provides guidelines to appropriately define KPIs, helps in identifying pitfalls while creating them and through examples helps in illustrating fundamental elements for effective KPIs. Since misguided or vague KPIs can lead to inactive agents, inactive customers and a team lacking in accountability and motivation, it is important to keep these aspects in mind to achieve the objective of inclusion.

2013 Mobile Money Adoption Survey

According to the findings of this survey, mobile and mobile network operators are playing a very vital role in promoting the adoption of convenient and affordable financial services among the financially excluded across the globe. There are 208 live services in 89 countries and at least 9 have crossed the mark of a million active users. Another interesting finding is that mobile money is now steadily being recognised as the mainstream business proposition for MNOs.

Mobile Money for Business: What the data shows in Tanzania, Uganda, DRC and Pakistan

This post by Michelle Kaffenberger looks at studies conducted in Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan on the usage of mobile money for small businesses. Kaffenberger observes that mobile money not only enables streamlining of business payments to suppliers, employees and customer transactions but saves time and also proves to be a safer and more secure option for transactions compared to cash. Each country has a different market profile: in the advanced markets of Tanzania and Uganda small businesses report high usage of mobile money services, in Pakistan small businesses may hold the key to change in a market currently dominated by OTC transactions, while in the nascent market of DRC small businesses show reticence to use these services still.

Section I: Policy – the latest from India’s policymakers

Developments and Policies: Financial Inclusion and Payment and Settlement Systems

Second Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2013-14, October 30, 2013

Financial Inclusion Plan 2013-16

Dr.Deepali Pant Joshi, Executive Director, RBI, October 28, 2013

Ideas and Actions for Re-igniting India’s Growth and Shaping the Recovery

Dr. K.C. Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, RBI, October 25, 2013

Financial Education and Customer Protection

Dr. Deepali Pant Joshi, Executive Director, RBI, October 22, 2013

Retail Payments at Crossroads: Economics, Strategies and Future Policies

Shri G Padmanabhan, Executive Director, RBI, October 21, 2013

Banking on Quality Data

Shri G. Padmanabhan, Executive Director, RBI, October 18, 2013

Welcome to India: State of the Indian economy, banking sector and factoring services

Dr. K.C. Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, RBI, October 7, 2013

What, Why and how of Retail (Mass) Banking: Issues and Challenges

Dr. K.C. Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, RBI, October 2, 2013

Financial Education Key to Promoting Financial Inclusion and Customer Protection

Dr. Deepali Pant Joshi, Executive Director, RBI, October 3, 201

Section II: News and Views Digest – the latest from India and abroad

India

Financial inclusion is not a new dispensation: RBI

EPFO bags Financial Inclusion & Payment Systems Award 2013

AISECT operationalised Gujarat’s financial inclusion project

Innovations in payment systems to drive financial inclusion: EY

Banks complete first phase of financial inclusion

Post offices, cooperative banks the next Amul success story in banking?

Post Banks apt for financial inclusion: Assocham

Smart things to know: Financial inclusion for domestic staff

NSPOT partners Central Bank to give loan against farm stocks

India needs more banks, foreign or not, to facilitate financial inclusion

RBI committee invites suggestions on financial inclusion

Expedite financial inclusion, Raiv Takru, financial services secretary tells banks

International

MetLife Foundation Launches $200 Million Campaign for Financial Inclusion

Small Farmers, Mobile Banking, Financial Inclusion in Madagascar

Mobile Wallets: Is a Transition Underway in Bangladesh?

How do Low-Income People in Senegal Manage their Money?

How the Poor Can Benefit from Choice in the Remittance Market

The Next Financial Inclusion Challenge: Private Sector Leadership

Funding 2.0: Building Inclusive Financial Markets

How do Low-Income People in Cote d’Ivoire Manage their Money?

Microfinance, E-Commerce, Big Data and China: The Alibaba Story

IMF Survey: Financial Access Gap Narrows in Sub-Saharan Africa

The “EasyPaisa” Journey from OTC to Wallets in Pakistan

Section III: Research – surveys and studies on expanding access to financial services

Facilitating Market Development to Advance Financial Inclusion

Mayada El-Zoghbi and Kate Lauer, CGAP Focus Note No 89, October 2013

Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office

Jose Anson, Alexandre Berthaud, Leora Klapper and Dorothe Singer, Development Research Group and Finance and Private Sector Development Team, World Bank, October 1, 2013

Opportunities and Obstacles to Financial Inclusion in Peru

Centre for Financial Inclusion, October 2013

 

Research

Digital payments and inclusion - Part I: Building a cost-effective robust infrastructure

Policy Brief October, 2013

Digital payments and inclusion - Part 2: Facilitating mobile payments

Policy Brief October, 2013

Leveraging Aadhar Authentication Protocols to Address Systemic Risks in Financial Inclusion

Policy Brief August, 2013

In the media

Strong signals for mobile banking

Financial Express, 10 October 2013

What hinders partnerships in payments and transfers

Financial Express, 06 August 2013

Speeding financial inclusion in India

Mint, 17 July 2013

Blog

USSD for Financial Inclusion

Re-thinking Financial Education

New thinking on inclusion in India

The importance of standardisation: Innovation in Payment System – ISO 20022

Can we fight poverty profitably?

 
 

Editor: Sumita Kale can be contacted at icfi@indicus.net

The Indicus Centre for Financial Inclusion was launched in 2011 to distil and disseminate information on accelerating the poor’s access to high-quality financial services. The Centre is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. http://www.indicus.net/icfi

© Indicus Centre for Financial Inclusion. All rights reserved. 31st October 2013.

 

Newsletters from July 2020 are available at https://icfi.substack.com/

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