Building Inclusive Payment Ecosystems in Tanzania and Ghana
Over the past decade, financial services for the poor have undergone a dramatic transformation. For years, financial institutions like banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) struggled to sustainably serve the world’s poor. But advances in techn...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/663171533185481164/Building-inclusive-payment-ecosystems-in-Tanzania-and-Ghana http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30274 |
| Summary: | Over the past decade, financial services
for the poor have undergone a dramatic transformation. For
years, financial institutions like banks and microfinance
institutions (MFIs) struggled to sustainably serve the
world’s poor. But advances in technology have led to
innovative business models, and with them, new opportunities
for expanding the reach of financial services. At the heart
of this financial transformation is the rise of digital
payments services through which nearly any individual or
business can send or receive money in real time for almost
any purpose and from nearly anywhere in the country, an
inclusive payment ecosystem. Overall, the main message that
emerges from a review of both country experiences is that
interoperability is important, but it is best pursued in
mature markets. Engagement with industry is important, and
regulators should be cautious when mandating
interoperability so as not to hinder early investment.
Stakeholders need to focus on governance and business rules,
as was the case in the year-long negotiations between
providers in Tanzania, and not just the technical
implementation, which is currently the overwhelming focus in
Ghana. As both markets continue to mature, it will be
important to monitor the Tanzanian and Ghanaian experiences
in the years to come to fully understand the impact of
interoperability on DFS. |
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