A growing number
of unbanked Africans are choosing to pay via their handheld devices, mostly in cryptocurrencies.
TenX is focusing their efforts on
some of the unbanked markets in Southeast Asia, China and India where, according to their whitepaper, around 50 % are currently «unbanked».
Cashaa, which aims to provide access to financial services for the billions
of unbanked, uses Blockchain technology to enable value transfer, without the end user having to come into contact with cryptocurrency themselves.
Rennes, a French Bitcoin Blockchain Data Startup, focusing on remittances and payment services, believes Blockchain Will Help 40 %
of the Unbanked.
We speak to Christine To, VP of Business Operations at AirFox, about the blockchain - powered mobile data provider that's set to disrupt the industry and provide scores
of unbanked and underserved individuals in emerging markets with access to mobile connectivity.
With an estimated population of hundreds of millions
of unbanked and underbanked people, Africa is a prime location for game changing financial technologies like bitcoin to...
Its devices are especially popular in India, China, and Southeast Asia, which happen to be markets full
of unbanked users, according to the World Bank Global Finance Index.
Similar to cloud computing, which has enabled millions of startups around the world to leverage billion - dollar infrastructure for a fraction of the cost, the infrastructure BitFury is deploying allows entrepreneurs to tap into world - class banking infrastructure for a fraction of the cost — unlocking the creativity of entrepreneurs to build financial service applications that can serve the specific needs
of the unbanked at a much lower cost than traditional banks.
KryptoMoney.com is proud to be a Media Partner for this great initiative taken by Humaniq to improves the lives
of unbanked / underbanked people as well as promoting and helping Blockchain Startups.
Their teams will go on an expedition to Kenya in order to explore the lives and financial habits
of the unbanked, and thus, refine their projects.
While regions like Africa feature a large proportion
of these unbanked, their numbers can be found in even the most industrialized nations in the West.
This could provide the billions
of unbanked people around the world with easy access to the international money market (assuming that they have Internet access).
Only if you belong to a niche
of the unbanked who frequently travel on United, manage their balance tightly, have a pretty high monthly spend and don't plan on improving their credit, need you apply.
More interestingly, the share
of unbanked households that used prepaid cards had increased more dramatically — from 12.2 % in 2009 to 17.8 % in 2011 to 27.1 % in 2013.
Last week, the FDIC released its 2013 National Survey
of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.
I took note of the Survey because its maps
of unbanked and underbanked rates by state have been receiving some attention online.
According to the most recent FDIC National Survey
of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, 7 percent of Americans are unbanked, and almost 28 percent of those households cited bank fees as the reason.
Unemployment had been with us for years and when in 2009 telecommunication giant, MTN introduced Mobile Money services it was welcomed and hailed by many and the reason was obvious; it was an opportunity to take advantage of rising unemployment situation, growing number
of the unbanked population and massive progress in ICT or telecommunications.
Here's a fact: In the US, close to 60 million households (~ 90 million people) in the US are either under underserved / banked and traditional banks can't serve them profitably — In fact, a 2010 FDIC survey found that while 73 % of banks were aware
of the unbanked and under - banked populations in their market, less than 18 % identified expanding services to these consumers as a priority in their business strategy.
The Asia - Pacific region has a high - level
of unbanked people, with many of them women.
This includes the millions
of unbanked people in the Global South who use nontraditional transactive and earning mediums that fall outside of the banking system.
The demand - side view would require interventions at the household level, through financial literacy programs, for example, while the supply - side view suggests that giving banks incentives to change their behaviour towards these customers may reduce the share
of unbanked households.
Growing up in Mississippi, the state with the highest population
of unbanked and underbanked residents, Allen saw the perfect opportunity to solve a problem that impacts over 2.5 billion people worldwide from a perspective that most wouldn't understand.
Once this work is complete, the «last mile» problem of getting cash from digital payments into the hands
of the unbanked will begin to be solved, and sending money to anyone, anywhere in the world will be as easy and inexpensive as sending a text message.
«We see Southeast Asia as a region with huge growth potential for WeLab due to its high percentage
of unbanked population (73 % out of 600 million) which makes it impossible to borrow and its high mobile penetration rate (133 %),» said Loong.
Some were due to the large number
of unbanked or underbanked populations of countries.
Section 7 further instructs the FDIC to consider several factors when conducting the surveys, including estimating the size and worth
of the unbanked market in the United States and identifying the primary issues that prevent unbanked individuals from establishing conventional accounts.
Of the unbanked, 90 % have a mobile phone (73 % of those are smartphones), but only half currently use mobile banking and mobile payments.
As Lisa Servon, author
of The Unbanking of America, notes in her new book, there's a new middle class emerging — one that lives «in a state of perpetual financial uncertainty,» with «chronic financial instability».
Not exact matches
Impact investors invest in things such as the redevelopment
of distressed land and financial services for the
unbanked — which have the potential to generate value.
One
of those services is Ecosave, which allows otherwise «
unbanked» people to safely put away money for emergencies.
«The vast majority
of the population is
unbanked and trapped in cash,» says Kathleen McGowan, senior policy advisor with the Washington - based U.S. Agency for International Development.
According to the company, Indians opened more than 200 million new bank accounts in the past several years, although there is still a large percentage
of citizens who are considered
unbanked.
After all, technology is bringing financial services to
unbanked corners
of the world and allowing consumers to pay for goods using just their smartphones.
Though the philanthropy under Bill Gates» name has partnered with cryptocurrency firm Ripple in a bid to help the
unbanked, the world's second richest man said Tuesday that the main feature
of Bitcoin and its ilk is not a «good thing.»
Reducing India's
unbanked may be one
of the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's biggest achievements yet.
Mobile is contributing to economic and social development across the globe, delivering financial inclusion to
unbanked populations with 270 live services in 90 countries as
of December 2015 according to GSMA Mobile Economy Report.
This could accelerate mobile money's rollout and give a huge portion
of the world's two billion
unbanked access to financial services.
L. 109 — 173) calls for the FDIC to conduct ongoing surveys, «on efforts by insured depository institutions to bring those individuals and families who have rarely, if ever, held a checking account, a savings account or other type
of transaction or check cashing account at an insured depository institution [«
unbanked»] into the conventional finance system.»
Payments via mobile phones are one
of the few methods
of digital payments accessible for the
unbanked.
By using mobile minutes as a currency, Namibia's
unbanked are able to quickly pay for electricity in times
of trouble through text messages.
With checking and savings account services the
unbanked will have the ability to apply for credit and other kinds
of financial services.
This segment
of the sector population commonly referred to as the «
unbanked.»
As the founder wants to find a way to scale bitcoin to the masses and facilitate adoption throughout India, many believe that this isn't an achievable goal, considering the fact that over 50 %
of India's population is currently
unbanked.
India is home to 21 percent
of the world's
unbanked population, according to World Bank research.
Coins.ph, a bitcoin startup that expects to get budgetary incorporation Southeast Asia has brought $ 5 million up in a Series A round
of subsidizing to quicken its push to bring essential monetary administrations for the
unbanked in the district.
London - based Fintech firm Humaniq, which provides next generation financial services to the
unbanked and underprivileged in emerging economies using its blockchain - based mobile application, has achieved a technological milestone with its working hybrid blockchain on the 2.0 version
of its app, to retain the benefits
of the Ethereum main - net while expanding...
Meanwhile, XLM has managed to capture support from its community with investor confidence peaking in anticipation
of future developments as the currency wants to facilitate cross-border remittances for mostly the
unbanked.
The «demand - side» view attributes the
unbanked phenomenon to cultural determinants (i.e. the poor may distrust financial institutions or may not have a «culture
of saving») or to a lack
of financial literacy.
Research shows that 80 %
of Indonesians are still
unbanked, a potential reason why the Indonesian rupiah (IDR) is one
of the most - traded currencies for Bitcoin worldwide.