Akshat Pathak

Specialist

Akshat Pathak is a Senior Manager in the Digital Financial Services domain of MSC India, focused in Payments and Distribution. He has over nine years of experience in the financial services sector spanning across public financial management, small and medium enterprises banking, digital financial services and alternate delivery channels, fintechs, and microfinance domains.

Akshat has worked on projects with multi-lateral development organizations, government and quasi-government institutions, central banks, banks, mobile money operators, payment system providers, agent network managers, and microfinance institutions in India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, USA, Vietnam, and Zambia. His work includes strategy and product development; institutional assessments and risk analysis; socio-behavioral research and design; channel design; process re-engineering; institutional branding, marketing, and communications; pilot testing and roll-out support; and enterprise focused training.

Posts by Akshat Pathak

LMI client impressions from Bangladesh and Vietnam

Various socio-economic dimensions drive the financial needs, aspirations, and behaviors of low- and moderate-income (LMI) customers. Customers from Bangladesh and Vietnam, through these snippets, describe their challenges and how the i3 Program helped them overcome these challenges.

Enabling the community to overcome the pandemic through digital payments

During the pandemic, Duong Thi Thuy, a mobile money agent in the Quang Ninh province, improvised her business to help her community follow the guidelines on social distancing and government norms. This is her story about the adoption of DFS and how it changed her life.

Impact of COVID-19 on FinTechs

How has the pandemic affected Indian FinTechs? What measures have the policymakers taken? Are these measures impactful for FinTechs? What are the investor sentiments for this sector? This report, the first in a series of ongoing Covid-19 research on Indian FinTechs and the Indian FinTech ecosystem by MSC, answers these questions in the current market’s context.

Analysis of India’s payment system indicators in Q2 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many users to adopt digital payments as they seek convenience and safety. MSC’s analysis of five categories of payment systems indicators in India indicates that these systems are dependable, durable, and command the mass market’s confidence.

COVID-19: A harbinger of consumer behavior shifts among FinTech users

The blog analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 on two major categories of FinTechs—credit and savings FinTechs. We analyze the immediate impact of the pandemic and the ensuing regulatory changes on FinTechs along with some long-term changes in consumer behavior that can have a systemic adverse impact. We close by recommending data-driven measures that credit and savings FinTechs should take today to control and arrest such adverse changes in consumer behavior.

Weathering a Perfect Storm – Part 2: Seven Ways Fintechs Can Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic

This blog covers the diverse strategies of FinTechs both big and small to adapt to the situation and overcome the challenges brought forth by the pandemic.

Weathering a Perfect Storm – Part 1: The Challenges Facing Fintechs in Emerging Markets During COVID-19

This blog covers the challenges and opportunities born from the COVID-19 pandemic, for both small and established FinTechs, particularly in the emerging markets. It sets the stage for part two, where we discuss how these FinTechs face these unprecedented challenges.

The Potential for Technology-backed Remittance Solutions in Malaysia

The blog explores the potential for technology-backed remittance solutions in Malaysia.