East asia pacific south asia

Ethiopia: “Mobile money doubled my number of customers in just three years”

In Addis Ababa, the vibrant Ethiopian capital, lies a busy Somali community market where Bisharo runs a small shop.

Lessons from Rwanda: Harnessing public-private partnerships to drive payment digitization

By Oswell Kahonde and Juan Blanco

Driving to Scale: Bim’s Journey to Digital Financial Inclusion in Peru

Interview with Felipe Vásquez de Velasco, General Manager of Peruvian Digital Payments (PDP)

Why having less cash can mean a better life

A third of adults struggle to get by without basic financial services to protect against hardship and save for the future. Ruth Goodwin-Groen, of the UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance, expl…

The Future of Supply Chains: Why Companies are Digitizing Payments

New report underscores benefits of shifting from cash to digital payments in corporate supply chains.

Driving sales through digital working capital loans for small merchants

Unilever partnered with Mastercard and Kenya Commercial Bank to develop a digital working capital platform helping small merchants grow sale in Kenya, called Jaza Duka.

Financial inclusion is making great strides

10 reasons to be optimistic that full financial inclusion is possible through digital payments

As the world gets a progress report from the World Bank, the Alliance outlines 10 key reasons to be optimistic about the journey toward full financial inclusion.

“Digital payments can be a game-changer for farmers”

Interview with World Cocoa Foundation, Paul F. Macek, Vice President for Programs

Why Do Defaults Affect Behavior? Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan

We report on an experiment examining why default options impact behavior. By randomly assigning employees to different varieties of a salary-linked savings account, we find that default enro…

Senegal’s commitment to digitizing payments at local level is setting an example for the region

Senegal has just announced a new partnership to accelerate the country’s transition from cash to digital payments, improving local governance and service delivery for its citizens.

One token changing the game for sustainable rural water supply in Tanzania

A water payment’s digitization project resulted in tripling water utility payments and reducing water collection waiting time from 3 hour to 10 minutes on average within a year, benefitting …

New Public Management Issues in Zimbabwe

This chapter discusses the ecological contexts, processes, and trajectory of New Public Management (NPM) in Zimbabwe.

Finclusion to Fintech: Fintech Product Development for Low-Income Markets

The paper presents detailed insights from 15 years of financial inclusion research to highlight the importance of fintech, including proposing product development ideas for Fintech players, to better serve developing world market.

Mobile power payments and smart meters plug in Tanzanian homes

Bringing E-money to the Poor: Successes and Failures

This report examines the successful lessons from Kenya, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Thailand case studies of “gazelles", that leapt from limitation to innovation by successfully enabling the deployment of e-money technology.

The Fight for Light: Improving Energy Access through Digital Payments

This report examines new business models and government initiatives for energy access that rely upon digital payments.

A handbook on regional integration in Africa: Towards Agenda 2063

The Handbook advices and informs on current dynamics, opportunities, challenges and policy options for Africa’s regional integration agenda.