United Commercial Bank Limited (UCB) is reported to have 149 branches and 101 ATMs in Bangladesh. In November 2013, it launched UCash, which it designed to offer interest bearing deposit services, as well as domestic person to person (P2P) transfers to new and existing customers. UCB originally wanted to build its own agent network so it could maintain a high level of control over its agents, ensuring both compliance with Bangladesh Bank regulations, and a high level of service for customers. Therefore it went about recruiting a team with distribution experience, hiring 12 area managers and 30 territory managers to operate under them. To read through the case study, please click here.
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MovilRed/Tranza in Colombia (Model 7: use shared agent network)
The Solidda group in Colombia originated as a prepaid airtime distribution network, which originally used scratch cards and then started using electronic vouchers. It has aggregated 60,000 retail outlets selling airtime under the MovilRed brand. In 2011, Solidda saw the opportunity to extend its service range by offering cash and electronic services for banks under the agency model, and set up a separate company called Tranza S.A.S. for this purpose. From the beginning it sought to become a multi-bank network, and refused to grant exclusivity to any bank. To read through the case study, please click here.
Aligning Customer and Agent Value Propositions to Drive Profits
This presentation was conducted during a workshop organised by GIZ in Mozambique for various digital finance (mobile network operator and bank) providers.
The presentation covers: how to define a customer value proposition and align it to you channel, why the ‘right’ agent selection is important, how to pitch the agent value proposition, how to align this during the evolution of the business model and finally how to communicate the value proposition along the customer journey.
MobiCash Bangladesh (Model 4: Build on GSM airtime distributors)
Digital finance was really catalysed in Bangladesh in 2011 when Dutch-Bangla Bank (DBBL) and bKash launched their services in May and July respectively. Since then, these providers have managed to grow at incredibly robust rates that have set them apart in a competitive field containing 28 licensed providers. The telecoms providers cannot obtain licenses for any digital financial services beyond rudimentary bill payments and ticketing services. However they do sell access to their channels (USSD, SMS etc.) over which many of these digital finance systems operate, and are still looking at ways they can play a greater role in the digital payments value chain. To read through the case study, please click here.
The Health & Profitability of Agent Networks in Tanzania
This presentation was conducted during the launch of our Tanzania Agent Network Accelerator report.
To read the report in full please click below:
Governance Practices among Microfinance Institutions in India
Governance has assumed increasing importance in the Indian microfinance sector over the last few years. With the growth in portfolio and outreach of MFIs, intense competition and stricter regulations, the governance practices of MFIs needed to adapt quickly. Strong governance not only contributes to robust growth of the institution but also avoids the possibility of mission drift. There is a need for prudent corporate governance structure to prevent MFIs from committing the same mistakes they made earlier, which led to a crisis-like situation in the Indian microfinance industry in 2010.
In the light of this context, SIDBI’s PSIG programme commissioned MicroSave to assess the “as-is” status of key corporate governance models followed by Indian MFIs, boards’ roles and responsibilities, executive management and oversight, level of involvement in policy development, corporate oversight and strategic planning process and so on.
The study was accomplished and the report was launched in a conference-cum-workshop on June 3, 2015. The conference was attended by industry stakeholders comprising microfinance practitioners, donors and investors, lenders, and industry experts. The conference presentation captures the summary of the report titled, “Governance Practices among MFIs in India” and provides a snapshot of the governance models adopted by MFIs in India.