Return to top
NewsWatch:
This page will stop being updated shortly. You can subscribe to Tameo’s NewsWatch
here
to keep yourself informed about recent industry happenings.
Learn more about Tameo.
Archives:
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2005
Fintech Growing Rapidly in Latin America
March, 29 2019
Latin America - The number of fintech startups has increased dramatically in Latin America, giving a significant boost to ambitions for greater financial inclusion.
...
Vietnam: IFC Provides Loans to OCB
March, 27 2019
Vietnam - The IFC-led financing package, combined with advisory services, will boost lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially women-owned or led ones, and will promote supply chain finance in the country
...
Philippines: Fintech Group Sets Financial Inclusion Objectives
March, 27 2019
Philippines - The group is looking to reduce the number of unbanked towns and provinces to 25% from 35% currently, as well as allow a fourth of cooperatives, rural banks and micro-finance firms to roll out inter-operable digital products and services
...
India: Into Debt Traps
March, 27 2019
India - A well designed system to monitor repayment capability of clients is vital for MFIs to detect over-indebtedness and to control it
...
Poor Access to Finance Is Holding Back Businesses in MENA. This Is How We Can Help Them
March, 27 2019
MENA - The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is facing the urgent task of creating jobs for the 20 million young people expected to join the workforce by 2025. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could play an instrumental role in tackling this challenge, given their potential to create jobs and foster innovation. Unfortunately, SMEs in the region continue to face important obstacles, not least limited access to finance - an area where the region has the largest gap in the world
...
Creating a More Financially Inclusive Asean through Open Banking
March, 27 2019
Asia - Open banking has increasingly been described as a key enabler of innovation for banks and financial technology (fintech) players. According to IDC Financial Insights’ research, financial services institutions have become increasingly open to collaboration with fintech companies, or investing in them to build innovation competencies
...
India: IIFL Fund Leads $130 Million Investment in Northern Arc Capital
March, 26 2019
India - Northern Arc Capital (formerly IFMR Capital), a debt capital platform for financial institutions serving excluded individuals and businesses, on Tuesday said it had raised ₹910 crore ($130 million) from IIFL Special Opportunities Fund and Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE), the company said in a statement
...
What's Next for Digitally Driven Financial Inclusion?
March, 22 2019
Global - While digital finance has helped bring millions across Asia into the economic fold, there is still work left to do, said panellists at the Money 20/20 Asia conference, who shared their lessons learned so far
...
China: Bank Loans Help Retirees Who Cannot Afford Pension Funding
March, 21 2019
China - The local government's social security department, together with Dandong Bank, has launched a new program called Pension Loan. They believe the move will improve the living standards of the low-income elderly while maintaining the sustainability of pension funds
...
Uganda: Over 1,400 People Enroll for Health Insurance
March, 21 2019
Uganda - According to Uganda Voucher Plus Activity Chief of party, Christine Namayanja, the project has trained health care providers in 55 health facilities in 28 districts of Eastern Uganda and Acholi sub- region about community mobilisation for health insurance
...
Impact Investing for Dual Financial and Social Returns
March, 19 2019
Global - According to the US SIF Foundation, by the end of 2017 more than one of every four dollars under professional management in the United States was invested according to SRI strategies, an amount totaling more than $12 trillion
...
What Opportunities Does Mobile ID Bring to the Unbanked
March, 14 2019
Global - Mobile ID is a digital identity and e-signature solution used to authenticate into e-services such as banking (being equivalent to a face-to-face meeting), and gives e-signatures confirming transactions. Just as with a passport, governments will be the sole issuers for its citizens. It works equally well on mobile phones and smartphones, thus can be deployed in rural areas with limited connectivity.
...
Rwanda: Lending to Farmers Boost MFIs Financial Position
March, 14 2019
Rwanda - Rice farmers in Rubona in Southern Province harvest their produce. Microfinance institutions remain the biggest lenders to farmers while commercial banks shying away from financing the agriculture sector as it is considered to be highly risky. File
...
Challenges in Banking the Unbanked
March, 14 2019
Global - Potential social and economic benefits of financial inclusion in developing countries are huge, yet many obstacles remain on the path to a fully banked world
...
India: How Financial Literacy Can Truly Empower Women
March, 13 2019
India - Financial inclusion and gender equality have been important subjects of discussion in most developing economies. In a UN report, “gender equality and empowerment of women and girls” has been touted as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), integral for inclusive and holistic development. However, the gender disparity remains at large and calls for a global effort towards bridging the gap
...
Inside Tips From Fintech Startups Trying To Advance Financial Inclusion
March, 12 2019
Global - How can we improve the quality of financial services, reduce their costs, and deliver them at scale to underserved customers globally? That was the topic that brought together more than 250 investors, entrepreneurs, bankers, regulators and industry leaders from around the world for the 2019 Fintech for Inclusion Summit
...
Future Returns: How to Incorporate ESG Strategies
March, 12 2019
Global - High-net-worth investors are demanding more from their portfolios than just strong investment results these days—they want to help change the world, too.
Socially responsible investing, traditionally an underperforming niche overlooked by most serious investors, has undergone explosive growth in popularity over the past few years and is increasingly becoming a mainstay in wealthy investors’ portfolios
...
Zimbabwe: Cost of Lending up 8% - MFIs
March, 12 2019
Zimbabwe - The deterioration in all the indicators of efficiency and productivity is highly correlated to the 2% money transfer tax and the significant increase in inflation recorded since September 2018
...
Consumer Finance Firms See Vietnam Opportunity
March, 12 2019
Vietnam - Figures from the National Financial Supervisory Commission indicate that credit from Vietnam’s consumer finance firms grew 3.5 times more than overall credit in 2017, while recent merger and acquisition activity points to greater overseas involvement in this sector
...
Egypt: FMO Invests in Dopay
March, 11 2019
Egypt - Dutch development bank FMO has invested in dopay, a technology start-up company that aims to break the cash cycle at the payroll of underserved employees in emerging markets
...
Pakistan: Microfinance - Growing in Numbers
March, 08 2019
Pakistan - Despite the political instability and economic worries through much of 2018, nothing could stop the microfinance juggernaut. Latest data released by the microfinance sector’s representative body, the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), show a continuation of healthy year-on-year growth in all three key areas – credit, savings, and insurance – for the year ended December 31, 2018
...
National Development Banks Are Back in Vogue
March, 07 2019
Global - NDBs are a unique species. Generally state-owned, they lend in pursuit of missions set out by the government. They cater to those often neglected by commercial bankers, lending to small firms, farmers or exporters, or funding infrastructure projects. Many banks seek to marry purpose with profitability. But achieving this in practice is not easy
...
How Fintech Should Help to Close the Gender Gap in Business Lending
March, 07 2019
Global - The number of women-owned businesses has been steadily increasing globally. Despite this, accessing finance to start or grow their business remains a struggle for many women. A study by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Kansas City found that women are less likely to be approved for business loans than men. Worse, according to Fundera, women on average receive smaller loan amounts and will often be charged higher interest rates by banks than men
...
Can New Rules Rouse Mobile Money Giants?
March, 07 2019
Africa - During MWC19 Barcelona, the GSMA released its annual mobile money report, which showed further astounding growth in Africa. But there remains several large countries in the region with low financial inclusion rates, where operators are struggling to make the impact they would lik
...
Financial Inclusion to Promote Energy Efficiency in India?
March, 06 2019
India - Although, financial development is more correlated with the functioning of the capital markets and the FDI inflow of a nation, the aspect of financial inclusion is what will drive energy efficiency in rural India. A shift in policy focus may be needed in current times to develop financial systems at the grass root level in order to enhance access to cleaner energy.
...
Inadequate ATM Infra Could Hit India's Financial Inclusion Plan
March, 05 2019
India - In a presentation made to the Reserve Bank of India’s committee on deepening of digital payments, headed by Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani, the industry body suggested an increase in the fee to Rs 18 from Rs 15 currently for financial transactions and to Rs 8 from Rs 5 for non-financial transactions
...
Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to Introduce Digital Payment Systems
March, 03 2019
Pacific Islands - Under the Pacific Payments Project, by the International Finance Corporation, IFC, and its sister organization, the World Bank, an Automated Transfer System (ATS) will be set up allowing banks to be connected with their respective central bank and with each other, for the electronic transfer of payments
...
Emerging Market Default Rates Remain Low Despite Crises
March, 02 2019
Global - Just 1.4 per cent of the non-financial EM corporate bonds rated by Moody’s defaulted in 2018, the rating agency said, the second lowest figure since 2012 and below the equivalent rate for advanced countries, 1.6 per cent, for the third straight year.
...
What Have We Learned from Sandboxes and Innovation Offices?
March, 01 2019
Global - If properly regulated, technology-enabled financial services such as mobile payments, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, alternative credit scoring, and new forms of savings and insurance, can accelerate the rise in financial inclusion for the 1.7 billion people worldwide who do not have a bank account
...
-0.28% · 
4.56% · 
0.12% · 
product.
