The Reserve Bank of India intended to enhance the quality of Business Correspondents (BCs) and ensure customer protection within its agent banking system. It mandated that all BC agents pass the Indian Institute of Banking & Finance (IIBF) BC/BF certification exam before they could offer complex financial products. Yet, despite the mandate, pass rates remained persistently low, which limited the ability of agents to expand services, earn higher commissions, and effectively support financial inclusion efforts across rural and underserved areas.
The Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT) and the Jharkhand Rajya Gramin Bank (JRGB) commissioned MSC to design a solution that could address these challenges and improve agent certification outcomes. MSC adopted a design thinking approach to reframe the learning journey. As part of this approach, we simplified technical content into accessible training materials, structured counseling sessions to build confidence, and introduced practical exercises that reflected agents’ real-life contexts.
The pilot showed a significant impact. Out of 230 agents trained, 86% successfully cleared the certification exam, which translated to a 43% increase in pass rates. Agents gained formal accreditation and reported greater confidence in customer interactions and improved earning potential through commissions on a broader suite of financial products. The intervention built on this success and has now been scaling through e-modules, with the potential to reach more than 1.5 million agents nationwide.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned the project.
Airtel Money sought to understand its consumer value proposition better and address challenges across its sales and distribution network. This effort was part of its plan to expand mobile financial services in India. Airtel’s operations spanned tier I, II, and III cities. Airtel recognized the need to refine its channel strategy to align more closely with consumer needs and strengthen the effectiveness of its retail agents.
MSC was engaged to conduct a comprehensive market analysis and research across Delhi, Mumbai, Allahabad, Jaunpur, Patna, and Gaya. The study assessed Airtel Money’s commission and payout structures, examined sales operations and marketing practices, and identified critical gaps in retailer training, communication, and operational support. Through direct engagement with consumers, retailers, and distributors, MSC generated actionable insights into the challenges and opportunities in Airtel’s distribution channels.
The findings helped Airtel Money refine its product positioning and remedy distribution inefficiencies. MSC provided clear recommendations to optimize retailer effectiveness and align product design with channel strategy. Our work supported Airtel in its mission to build a more reliable, customer-centric, and scalable mobile money service.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned the project.
The UN Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF) Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) program in Zambia set out to prove how a carefully designed blend of technical, financial, and policy support could help scale sustainable branchless and mobile financial services for underserved communities. The initiative sought to extend digital finance to low-income and rural populations, increase the use of branchless channels, and create an enabling environment for providers and regulators alike.
MSC was engaged to provide digital financial services expertise to support the program’s country-level initiatives. The team conducted payment flow diagnostics, including a comprehensive study on government payments through the Better Than Cash Alliance methodology. This work identified critical challenges to digitization and developed a clear roadmap of recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders. MSC also supported service providers with market and client research, product and service design, and project monitoring to ensure international best practices were adapted to Zambia’s specific needs.
Through this engagement, MSC’s contributions helped shape four provider projects under MM4P designed to promote a healthier digital finance ecosystem. The program strengthened the digitization of government payments, expanded the reach of mobile money, and enhanced the adoption of digital financial services among low-income and rural households. These efforts laid the groundwork for greater financial inclusion in Zambia by ensuring the sustainable growth of digital financial services.
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) commissioned the project.
Telecel Zimbabwe, the country’s second-largest telecommunications provider, launched Telecash in 2014 to expand access to mobile money services, such as person-to-person transfers, bill payments, bulk payments, airtime purchases, and the Telecash Gold Card. Despite its potential, the service struggled with persistent challenges related to agent liquidity, which undermined service reliability and customer trust.
Telecel engaged MSC to address this issue. We started the project with the intent to diagnose and optimize float management practices across its nationwide agent network. MSC conducted an in-depth assessment of Telecash’s float management. We reviewed agent float requirements and disbursement mechanisms, analyzed operational gaps, and benchmarked practices against central bank guidelines and international standards. The study drew on desk research, interviews with key staff, and field visits to understand the realities of agent operations.
The findings and recommendations directly contributed to improved float management, stronger agent liquidity, and enhanced operational efficiency within Telecash’s network. These changes led to a more reliable service and smoother customer transactions, which strengthened Telecash’s ability to deliver on the promise of mobile money in Zimbabwe.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned the project.
Under its CSR mandate, Axis Bank partnered with MSC to strengthen financial literacy among low-income communities in India’s underserved regions. The pilot reached 10,000 individuals from the financially excluded segments across two aspirational districts in Bihar and Odisha.
MSC led the end-to-end design and execution for this pilot. We conducted a diagnostic study and subsequently created a multilingual curriculum in Hindi and Odia that aligned with the RBI’s National Financial Education Strategy. We used a blended model of classroom education to train 5,000 participants and conducted IVR-based mobile education for 5,000 more. Our curriculum also used audiovisual content, flipbooks, and gamified tools.
The initiative successfully improved financial awareness and responsible usage of formal services to offer a scalable model for contextualized financial education. from the pilot have been shaping Axis Bank’s broader CSR and inclusion strategy to enable future scale-up and replication.
Axis bank commissioned the project.
While Indonesia has historically pushed for financial inclusion, banks struggled to identify sustainable models to extend services beyond branches. Potential agents lacked clear incentives, operational support, and capacity to serve unbanked communities at scale.
MSC partnered with Bank Mandiri under the USAID-funded e-MITRA initiative to design a viable branchless banking strategy. We conducted field research to map agent archetypes, from retail shops to post offices and health centers, after which we assessed their business viability, liquidity capacity, and trust levels. MSC developed a blueprint that covered agent selection, training, incentive design, liquidity management, and monitoring systems based on these insights.
Bank Mandiri adopted MSC’s recommendations, scaling its branchless banking network to 150,000+ agents nationwide. These agents now deliver savings, bill payments, and remittances across rural and urban Indonesia. The initiative significantly advanced financial inclusion by making low-cost, accessible banking services available to millions of unbanked and underbanked Indonesians.
Bank Mandiri commissioned the project.
