Microfinance


TransferTo and Fern Software get UN funding for payments push

Cross-border mobile payments network TransferTo and banking software provider Fern Software have both been awarded a grant as a part of the United Nations Capital Development’s Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformation (Shift) Challenge Fund, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The goal of the fund is to use remittances to improve the economic power of women […]

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank goes live with Intellect’s core banking system

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, a microfinance institution in India, has rolled out Intellect Design Arena’s core banking system. The bank received its licence last year, and according to Intellect, one of the key requirements for Utkarsh was to have a joint liability group solution that would enable it to provide group loans to the microfinance […]

Kenya leads Africa in financial inclusion innovation

Kenya is leading the way when it comes to digital innovation for financial inclusion in Africa, according to research by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). Earlier this year, CGAP says it invited firms and organisations to submit proposals for digital innovations they believe have the most potential to advance financial inclusion in […]

Microcred looks ahead with BankBI business intelligence software

Microfinance entity Microcred has chosen BankBI’s business intelligence software applications as part of its move into retail banking. As reported last year, Microcred said it plans to become a fully-fledged retail bank and grow its presence from nine to 17 countries by 2020. It has opted to keep its long-standing technology provider, Temenos, and upgrade […]

Innotribe unveils ten start-ups for Africa challenge

Innotribe, Swift’s innovation arm, has named the ten firms who will compete in its Start-up Challenge Africa. The start-ups will pitch their products in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on 17 May 2017 during Swift’s African Regional Conference. Innotribe evaluated close to 100 applications received for the third edition of the Startup Challenge in Africa. The applications […]

BIM, Peru’s first mobile money wallet: lessons learnt

Peruvian mobile wallet BIM, described as “the world’s first fully-interoperable national mobile money platform”, will launch new services in H2 2017. It will enable customers to pay electricity, water and telephone bills, as well as have access to micro savings and loans, and micro-insurance.

Singapore regulator and UN team up for ASEAN financial inclusion

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) have teamed up to improve access to digital financial services in the ASEAN region. The partnership is under the ongoing UNCDF’s Shift (Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations) programme for development in this part of the world. Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer, MAS, […]

DFS Innovation Lab launches fintech bootcamp

Powered by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Digital Financial Services (DFS) Innovation Lab has launched a new high-intensity fintech bootcamp for companies in Sub-Saharan Africa and and South Asia.

New banking platform for MFIs in Nepal

34 microfinance entities in Nepal have joined forces to set up a fintech company – Nepal Finsoft – to build and maintain a shared core banking platform.

Mambu plans to onboard 50 new clients by year-end

Fintech vendor Mambu says it has added 25 new clients to its portfolio this year and is set to double this figure by the end of 2016. It will also more than double the size of its team by the year-end. “All [of Mambu’s new customers] are focused on servicing consumers and businesses poorly reached by […]

VisionFund International opts for BankBI’s business intelligence solution

VisionFund International (VFI), the microfinance arm of World Vision, has selected BankBI’s cloud-based business intelligence and analytics solution. The Microsoft Azure-deployed solution will be used in 32 countries. VFI plans to centralise its data management and reporting efforts across its operational, social performance and financial data, as it wants to “capitalise” on opportunities in rural […]

Microcred to become fully-fledged bank; Temenos to provide core banking tech

International microfinance entity Microcred plans to become a fully-fledged retail bank and grow its presence from nine to 17 countries by 2020. It has opted to keep its long-standing technology provider, Temenos, and upgrade to a single instance of the vendor’s flagship system, T24. It will be operated from Dakar, Senegal. Microcred has recently signed […]

Cambodia’s Prasac launches remote banking with Compass Plus

Prasac, the largest microfinance institution (MFI) in Cambodia, has launched internet and mobile banking services using the TranzWare multi-card processing solution from Compass Plus. Its customers can now transfer money between their accounts, pay bills, top-up their mobile phones, manage their cards, check their balances and get a mini-statement by logging on to their internet […]

Interview: Rupert Scofield, founder of Finca International

Rupert Scofield, president and CEO of microfinance organisation Finca International, discusses how it brings banking to the developing world and why people should follow America’s lead in the art of philanthropy. “This is your world. My generation had its shot. We thought our problems were daunting but it’s nothing like the stuff you’re dealing with. […]

Philippines credit union groups sign for Temenos’ software

Two Philippines-based credit union networks, National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) and Philippine Federation of Credit Cooperatives (PFCCO) will build a common banking and payments platform based on Temenos’ software. The new platform will underpin the service known as the ACCU Payment Platform (APP). ACCU stands for “Asian Confederation of Credit Unions” – both NATCCO and […]

Finca and First Access join forces for microfinance fintech

Microfinance organisation Finca and credit scoring specialist First Access have unveiled “the world’s largest microfinance fintech collaboration”. The two companies say this partnership “will create the largest and most sophisticated alternative credit-scoring approach by a microfinance institution (MFI) in the world.” It will also vastly improve Finca’s outreach to excluded populations. First Access will analyse existing […]

Finca Bank Georgia in digital banking system revamp

Finca Bank Georgia, an affiliate of Finca International, a global microfinance organisation, is looking to modernise its online and mobile banking systems. The bank has recently issued a tender to find a new provider and software. Banking Technology understands that the selection is in its final stages at present, with contract negotiations underway. Once the […]

Banco Macro opts for cloud

Argentina’s Banco Macro will use the Mambu cloud as the basis for a new business unit, which will offer loans to micro-enterprises and small businesses. The aim is to provide a lifeline to areas that have historically lacked access to financial services.