Bangladesh Bank wanted to introduce an e-KYC system to boost financial inclusion countrywide. Under the system, customers would not need to provide paper-based copies of authentication documents to open bank accounts. The e-KYC will use the national identity number and biometrics to make the authentication process seamless. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh commissioned MSC to evaluate the e-KYC pilot and suggest reforms to the existing e-KYC guidelines for key stakeholders. MSC finalized the work plan, approach, methodology, and expectations of key stakeholders for the e-KYC pilot. We finalized the research tools and conducted a representative survey with the service providers and end-users.

MSC delivered an interim report that highlighted key findings and recommendations on the present state of the e-KYC process. We delivered the final report based on the analysis with recommendations on fingerprint-based, face-matching, and OCR-based (optical character recognition) e-KYC; a unified identity database; data privacy; and customer protection.

Bangladesh Bank modified the processes based on our recommendations and brought necessary changes to the draft guidelines.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) commissioned the project.

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) contracted MSC to develop a regional policy framework on e-KYC and Digital ID for seven Eastern Europe and Central Asian countries. These countries included Armenia, Belarus, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. MSC provided end-to-end technical support to these countries, which included extensive regulatory analysis and policy advisory of the digital ID system, e-KYC norms, and compliance with Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Anti Money Laundering (AML) or Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations for enhanced financial inclusion. MSC also conducted ideation workshops with global experts from AFI to finalize the assessment framework.

MSC’s intervention led to the development of a regional framework on e-KYC and Digital ID. The framework includes three broad components—policy development, infrastructure and development, policy implementation, and ecosystem development. These components detail specific principles AFI members in these countries can consider as they formulate digital ID and e-KYC policies.

The findings and recommendations helped the regulators and policymakers improve the Digital ID system and e-KYC norms in the seven Eastern European and Central Asian countries.

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion commissioned this project.

MSC coordinated, managed, and monitored the implementation of the Small Firm Diaries, a global, multi-country research initiative to understand the barriers to the growth and productivity of small firms. The study report could help the Government of Indonesia formulate more accurate and targeted policies.

The Small Firm Diaries is a global research initiative managed by the Financial Access Initiative at New York University. It intends to understand low-income small firms’ role in poverty reduction. It also sought to identify barriers that delay their growth and productivity and limit their contribution to local economies. This research focused specifically on firms that employed between one and 20 non-family member employees.

The study used the financial diaries methodology for data collection. The methodology involved the gathering of high-frequency quantitative and qualitative data. In each country, a team of local field researchers visited a sample of small firms weekly for a year. They meticulously captured daily data on financial flows and the decision-making processes behind these flows.

MSC served as the lead implementation partner, alongside L-IFT (Low-Income Financial Transformation), to manage the data collection for the Small Firm Diaries study’s Indonesian segment. This involved critical tasks, such as the selection and screening of research locations, the recruitment and training of field research teams, the supervision of the field research implementation, and rigorous data quality control procedures. The study included 162 firms from Bandung, Makassar, Medan, and Yogyakarta in Indonesia.

The MSC Indonesia team also contributed significantly to the research design to ensure its relevance and effectiveness in the Indonesian context. We also collaborated to produce various research outputs, which included research reports and case studies.

MSC Indonesia played a critical role to convene the project’s Indonesian Advisory Group. This esteemed group served as a valuable sounding board throughout the project. They actively responded to research findings and provided advice on Indonesian priorities and context. The Advisory Group had over 300 esteemed members, which included ministers, deputy ministers, C-level leaders, and directors from more than 80 organizations. These organizations spanned government ministries, private sector entities, non-governmental organizations, and international development agencies.

The New York University commissioned this project. This project spanned across seven countries: Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Indonesia, Fiji, and Uganda from 2021 to 2023.

MSC conducted research to assess the current state of mobile money agents in Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mozambique. We evaluated their satisfaction levels, challenges, opportunities, and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact.

MSC conceived and designed the research, coordinated the team across three countries, and conducted 80 key informant interviews in each country to collect data on agent network growth and sustainability. We also developed in-country reports on mobile money agents’ states. MSC developed a report to identify strategies to sustain and expand mobile money agent networks in Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mozambique. We also provided recommendations to ensure their long-term viability.

GSMA published the findings and key recommendations to support the mobile money industry across the three markets.

GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation, Inc. commissioned this project.

MSC ran a diagnostic study to highlight the challenges and constraints that DFS (Digital Financial Service) providers face when they expand agent networks in rural areas. MSC conducted the study to identify the best-performing ANM (Agent Network Management) models in rural areas of Côte d’Ivoire. The study also sought to identify potential policy and regulation adjustments to overcome the limitations of rural agents’ recruitment and viability. The study integrated a gender lens to understand women’s representation among rural agents and the limitations they may face when they start and conduct an agent business. The study also sought to understand their relationship with agents and how easily these women can access them.

The study involved a desk review, interviews with a sample of ANMs of different categories, and analysis and comparison of their business models and operations. It also estimated the percentage of female agents and customers, analyzed the regulatory and taxation regime’s impact on the agent business’s expansion and viability, and its impact on women.

The study identified challenges around regulatory constraints, inappropriate taxation modalities, and a lack of financial access for agents. It recommended granular public data’s development to create a national strategy that will improve coverage. The commission structure for agents and ANMs was also a concern, as it might not be sustainable for agent businesses in rural areas. The study underscored the need for responsible and protective agents to ensure consumer protection, especially in rural areas where they play a crucial role in customer transactions and complaints.

CGAP commissioned this project.