Tagged: financial inclusion

May 17, 2021 @ 7:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Yusef Jacobs, the 28-year-old Founder and Chief Executive at Graviti, aims to transform microfinance by allowing consumers to gain access to essential appliances. Jacobs believes that people who might not have a lot of funds will still pay for items they really need. Jacobs has… Read More

May 6, 2021 @ 7:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Arab Monetary Fund, which aims to establish policies of Arab monetary cooperation and promote the development of Arab financial markets, has launched “Finxar,” which is a regional Fintech index for tracking the development of the financial technology industry in Arab nations. The United Arab… Read More

May 4, 2021 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesian peer to peer lender Amartha has acquired $28 million (appr. IDR 405 billion) in capital from Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II (WWB) and MDI Ventures. Amartha‘s round also received contributions from existing investors Mandiri Capital Indonesia and UOB Venture Management. WWB Capital Partners… Read More

May 3, 2021 @ 11:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China-based MYbank, an online private commercial bank and an affiliate of the Ant Group with a special focus on working with rural areas and SMEs, has revealed that it will be doubling the number of rural counties it serves in the coming years. MYbank and… Read More

April 19, 2021 @ 9:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pakistan is reportedly planning to carry out studies in order to potentially launch a State-backed virtual currency so that it can enhance its existing banking system, enable greater financial inclusion, and also ensure that illicit activtiies such as money laundering are not being carried out… Read More

March 31, 2021 @ 12:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, is reportedly looking into adopting a virtual banking framework so that it may be leveraged to enable greater financial inclusion. The new digital banking guidelines are being developed to support a regulatory environment… Read More

March 29, 2021 @ 11:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fitch Ratings reports that the Islamic banking ecosystem in Oman is expected to continue growing during 2021-2022 after rather strong momentum last year. This, despite the COVID-19 outbreak and historically low oil prices, Fitch Ratings noted. Islamic financing in the MENA region country expanded by… Read More

March 19, 2021 @ 10:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Brian Brooks, Former Acting Head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), has now joined the board of Spring Labs, a firm that develops innovative tech for exchanging data securely and in an anonymous manner via a shared blockchain or distributed ledger… Read More

March 11, 2021 @ 10:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Africa based Fintech group Adumo has secured R225 million (appr. $14.9 million) in capital from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is a member of the World Bank Group. The IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund also contributed investments in order to expand access to… Read More

March 11, 2021 @ 9:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Egyptian Fintech firm Dayra has reportedly joined Y Combinator and has also acquired $3M in pre-seed funding. Dayra is a Cairo-headquartered Fintech company offering modern financial services to the nation’s unbanked gig economy workers and micro-businesses. Darya has reportedly joined Y Combinator’s Winter 21 batch,… Read More

March 5, 2021 @ 8:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia-based Fintech firm PAYFAZZ has revealed that it invested $30 million in Xfers, a Singapore-headquartered business. The investment was made to establish a new financial entity, known as the Fazz Financial Group (FFG). PAYFAZZ stated that the companies will be keeping their respective names while… Read More

February 25, 2021 @ 2:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tim Frost, CEO at YIELD App, which is a comprehensive Fintech app offering a wide range of DeFi services and new investment strategies, has shared his views and insights regarding the recent trading frenzy that was initiated by a group of armchair investors via Reddit… Read More

February 4, 2021 @ 11:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesian digital wallet provider OVO has teamed up with Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia (MAMI) and its partner Bareksa in order to introduce an instant redemption mutual fund. OVO stated that the new offering is the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian country. The… Read More

January 25, 2021 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A recent study carried out by the Mastercard Economics Institute revealed that the Coronavirus crisis has presented Africa with significant growth opportunities for Fintech firms. The study has noted that the industry should, this year, play a key role in promoting greater financial inclusion in… Read More

January 18, 2021 @ 9:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pakistan has introduced a state-managed instant digital payments platform in order to promote greater financial inclusion. The new online payments system, Raast, has been launched to support women who might have been financially marginalized or unable to access modern financial services for a long time…. Read More

January 1, 2021 @ 9:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Paxful, a leading peer to peer Bitcoin (BTC) exchange, acknowledges that 2020 was quite rough. They claim that even though it may have been the hardest year of many peoples’ lives, there were still some positive developments. In January 2020, Bitcoin was… Read More

December 27, 2020 @ 4:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dalal Buhejji, the Director of Business Development, Financial Services at the Bahrain Economic Development Board, has noted that there are currently around 400 financial institutions based in Bahrain. Buhejji pointed out that these companies are offered a “stable, predictable and proven” regulatory and business environment… Read More

December 26, 2020 @ 1:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Varo Money, Inc., the first consumer Fintech in the US to become a chartered national bank, recently explained how they’re building a better banking platform. Philippa Girling, Chief Risk Officer at Varo Money, noted that she’d been working in the banking industry for the past… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 8:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The gig economy has been growing steadily in Asian countries like Malaysia, particularly at a time when the COVID-19 outbreak is forcing residents to pick up side jobs to supplement their earnings during these uncertain times. Although the gig economy or temp work opportunities are… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 6:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The financial sector is undergoing major technological advancements and changes. Traditional banking institutions now face a lot of competition from online or digital startups that have no physical branches. Social media and other online platforms are branching out into payments and credit. The rise in… Read More