Mobile to Deliver Financial Inclusion to a Third of Those in Developing Nations

Innovation Drives New Wave of Products
According to the research, whilst microfinance products have largely revolved around basic money transfer, loans, savings and insurance, players are now seeking to innovate and adjust offerings to drive customer adoption, as well as to solve more complex social issues in developing nations. Juniper highlighted Telenor’s recent launch of interest free loans for farmers in Pakistan as a case in point. According to research author
Lauren Foye:

The research also anticipated that there would be in surge in deployments in underserved regions, particularly within developing Asia.

However, the research argued that key barriers remain in less penetrated markets. Most pressing is the lack of clear regulation across regions, compounded further by factors such as cultural and religious variations which can lead to operators falling foul of local customs.

The research claimed that clarification is likely to come as operators and governments seek to further inclusion and address the issues associated with an unbanked population, while the implementation of localised offerings would address many of the cultural differences currently hindering launches.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.