MSC worked with Qatar Central Bank to develop the national financial inclusion and literacy strategy. We conducted a national survey of Qatar’s population to assess the level of financial inclusion and literacy in the country. The survey identified the key gaps in different sectors, such as banking, insurance, and SMEs. We analyzed the supply and demand factors associated with these gaps to develop solutions and recommendations to respond to them. We created an enabling framework that supports banks and financial institutions to increase access to financial services for under-served segments.
Based on this work, MSC drafted the National Financial Inclusion and Literacy Strategy and an implementation program in coordination with the Financial Inclusion Committee of the Qatar Central Bank. The national policy will have a positive impact on about 2.26 million adults in the country.
MSC has worked extensively with central banks of countries across Africa and Asia. We strengthened the regulatory and supervisory framework for microfinance with the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG). We assisted BPNG to establish the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI), the apex national institution to coordinate all financial inclusion activities in Papua New Guinea.
In Vietnam, MSC provided technical assistance to the State Bank of Vietnam to improve the legal framework and to strengthen the regulatory and supervisory capacities for the microfinance sector. In the Philippines, we provided technical assistance for Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to strengthen the capacity of the consumer protection and education committee. Our efforts were to develop, disseminate, and evaluate consumer protection advisories.
We have provided training on agent networks, risks management and the regulation and supervision of digital finance to Bank of Uganda, Nepal Rastra Bank, Bank of Zambia, and many others. We continue to work with Bank Indonesia and Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) to provide analysis and guidance on the regulations governing digital financial services and agent networks.
UNDP and UNCDF engaged MSC to conduct a scoping mission with key stakeholders across Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and design the 2014-2018 phase II of the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP). MSC consulted more than 130 stakeholders including government, central banks, private sector players, donors, and international development agencies. The project covered five Pacific island countries—Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, and Vanuatu.
MSC also conducted stakeholder workshops in four of the countries. We then developed the project proposal for PFIP-II. Our engagement allowed UNCDF and UNDP to secure an initial round of funding (over USD 21 million) for the program. The interventions under PFIP phase II have already benefitted more than 500,000 Pacific Islanders, including rural and low-income women, men, youth, and micro-entrepreneurs.
MSC carried out a comprehensive assessment of the regulatory framework for digital and mobile financial services in Bangladesh for ‘Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations’ (SHIFT) SAARC, a UNCDF project.
MSC’s regulatory assessment and subsequent policy brief recommended the following:
- Tiered Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.
- A DFS steering committee in the Bangladesh Bank.
- The introduction of a regulatory sandbox.
- Revisions to the mobile money and agent banking guidelines.
- Investments in the supervisory structures at the Bangladesh Bank.
Since the review, SHIFT and a2i have been working to introduce eKYC alongside a working committee. Meanwhile, the mobile money and agent banking guidelines have been updated, while there is greater coordination of digital finance policy and regulation within the Bangladesh Bank. At the time of writing, discussions on the regulatory sandbox continue.
MSC developed and implemented agent banking strategies for three leading banks in Uganda—Stanbic Bank, Centenary Bank, and DFCU. This intervention increased the financial services outreach of the banks to the untapped remote areas of Uganda. MSC provided technical assistance support to design the strategy and business case, channel development and implementation, and agent network development and management. The MSC team also worked on marketing and communications, behavioral research, pilot testing and evaluation, and the design and implementation of the rollout of agent banking.
MSC’s support helped the institutions to speed up the launch of agent banking with strategic business cases and approval from the Bank of Uganda. At the time of writing, these institutions had realized significant benefits in the 10-month period. By the end of 2018, more than 2,600 agents had registered and thousands of customers had accessed the banking services through the agent channel. The three banks had processed a cumulative 2.9 million transactions with a value of UGX 1.4 trillion (USD 400 million).
MSC’s intervention took place in three Indian states—Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Odisha. The intervention helped to increase the penetration of bank accounts from 80% to 95% in target locations within five months.
After the intervention, 100% bank accounts in the target locations were Aadhaar– and mobile number-seeded—a prerequisite for doing digital Aadhaar-enabled transactions. In the state of Odisha, mobile number linkage to bank accounts increased from 12% to 91%. During the process, customers conducted their first digital transaction. At an overall level, digital transactions increased by 30-35% within five months.
In Ramnagar city of Varanasi district in Uttar Pradesh, MSC worked on strategy and implementation plan for transforming Ramnagar into a less-cash village. We increased awareness of the BHIM application and *99# (USSD) by multiple times (from five to 150 merchants). MSC helped to onboard 20 new merchants on BHIM and another 20 merchants on Paytm to accept payments digitally. MSC helped 9% of the weavers receive their salaries digitally in their bank accounts.