MSC (MicroSave Consulting) is a global leader in developing inclusive agent and merchant networks that serve as the backbone of last-mile financial service delivery. We have worked across more than 20 countries in Asia and Africa for more than 20 years to drive inclusive financial and social change. MSC has partnered with governments, central banks, financial institutions, MNOs, FinTechs, and development agencies to design and scale resilient, sustainable, and inclusive gender-intentional distribution ecosystems.
MSC supports the full life cycle of agent and merchant network development from diagnostic, strategy and design to scale-up, sustainability, and impact measurement. We have implemented multiple projects on agent viability, digital enablement, and channel optimization to engage more than 25 ecosystem actors to create collaborative models that ensure reach, affordability, and resilience. We specialize in agent and merchant network expansion to helping institutions build and optimize last-mile touchpoints by enhancing cash-in/cash-out (CICO) infrastructure, introducing digital payment acceptance, and integrating financial services such as credit, insurance, and remittances into rural and urban geographies.
Our key focus areas include:
- Network strategy and expansion: We strengthen CICO infrastructure, expand rural and urban access points, and embed financial services, such as credit, insurance, savings, and pensions, in high-traffic networks.
- Capacity building: We design training programs, agent onboarding frameworks, grievance resolution systems, and performance monitoring tools.
- Product innovation and customer-centric design: We partner with fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors, agri-value chains, and retail networks to integrate financial services and reduce customer acquisition costs.
- Operational resilience and sustainability: We develop tools and financial products to optimize agent liquidity, reduce float costs, and ensure cash availability.
- Digital and data-driven integrations: We use mobile platforms, interoperable artificial programming interfaces (APIs), agent segmentation, and transaction analytics to improve agent performance and customer experience.
- Policy ecosystem and partnership: We strategically shape enabling regulatory environments through deep institutional partnerships and policy advocacy with actors like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), central banks, and international donors.
- Monitoring and impact measurement: We deploy dashboards, user research, and outcome tracking to assess adoption, satisfaction, income uplift, and ecosystem impact.
Our 100+ publications, toolkits, and frameworks on channel development have set benchmarks for agent performance, digital transformation, gender inclusion, and liquidity management. From the streets of Dhaka to remote Kenyan villages, MSC’s work continues to push the boundaries of inclusive finance. We ensure that agent networks are data-driven, customer-centric, and resilient to the evolving needs of underserved communities.
Key publication:
- Breaking barriers: A study on female cash-in cash-out (CICO) agents and their potential to drive financial inclusion
- The role CICO agents play in Ethiopia’s social payments
- Delivering finance better in a humanitarian relief operation: Lessons learned from the Somali Region of Ethiopia
- The next chapter in Kenya’s digital payment revolution
- Investing with heart and wisdom: Strategic amplification of female agency frontlines
- Using a behavioral lens to develop training and marketing tools to enable agents to sell non-CICO (cash-in and cash-out) use cases in India
Signature projects
FAQs
Channel development is a strategic lever that helps scale inclusive financial services through efficient, resilient, and sustainable agent and merchant networks. MSC supports the full channel lifecycle, from market diagnostics, strategy, and network design to scale-up, optimization, sustainability, and impact measurement. We specialize in agent and merchant strategy, agent network infrastructure, digital enablement, agent viability, gender-inclusive distribution, channel optimization, policy and regulation, and impact measurement. We have developed more than 100 publications, toolkits, and frameworks to strengthen inclusive and sustainable last-mile distribution ecosystems, drawing on more than 20 years of experience across more than 20 countries in Asia and Africa.
A cash-in cash–out (CICO) agent or a business correspondent (BC) agent is a bank-authorized agent that extends essential banking services to underserved and unbanked communities. These services include deposits, withdrawals, and remittances, particularly in areas with limited traditional branch infrastructure. We take a lifecycle approach to developing CICO agent networks. We support institutions with agent onboarding and deployment, capacity building and training, liquidity management, grievance resolution, and performance monitoring. This approach helps build efficient, sustainable, and customer-centric last-mile banking networks.
Yes. MSC takes a gender-intentional approach to strengthen agent networks, with a focus on female agent participation, sustainability, and earning potential. Our work includes research on female CICO agents and gender-disaggregated analysis of agent networks. We also develop strategic interventions to identify and address the structural, operational, and market barriers that limit women’s participation, performance, and income.
MSC works across the financial inclusion ecosystem. We partner with governments, central banks, regulators, financial institutions, mobile network operators (MNOs), FinTechs, development agencies, and other ecosystem actors. We bring together market insights, policy expertise, and institutional partnerships to shape enabling policy and regulatory environments. We also strengthen market infrastructure and accelerate the scale and sustainability of inclusive financial distribution networks.
MSC uses digital platforms, interoperable APIs, agent segmentation, transaction analytics, and digital payment solutions to improve agent performance and customer experience. We combine data-driven insights with tools and financial solutions that strengthen liquidity management, reduce operational constraints, improve agent viability, and build more resilient and sustainable last-mile distribution networks.
