September 19, 2024 Germany’s Cash Culture: Entrenched, But Evolving In Germany, the winds of digitization are blowing, though they may be more swirling than a concentrated gust.
August 07, 2024 Argentina: Can Bank-Driven Wallets Compete With Big Tech Platforms? Following the pandemic, a certain playbook for revamping digital payment ecosystems has emerged across geographies. This often involves
July 17, 2024 Can Digital Monitoring Unlock Climate Finance? Last year, Mondato partnered with the GSMA to map the landscape of innovative finance instruments targeting improved delivery
June 26, 2024 CBDCs: The Answer To Cross-Border Inefficiencies? Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are a bit of a Rorschach test, depending on the central bank and
June 05, 2024 Betting on Chaos: Africa’s Thriving Online Gambling Industry For 36-year-old Zimbabwean Charles Mpeni, a former civil servant and gambling addict, betting on horses was a harmless
May 08, 2024 Brazil and India Usher In The Open Finance Era It took a few years of discussions, proposals and frustrations for open banking to become an actual, concrete
April 10, 2024 Fintech And The Era of Digital Public Infrastructure When Anit Mukherjee arrived in Washington, DC in 2013, a friend suggested ordering something called Uber to pick
March 06, 2024 Open Banking in Nigeria: Are Grassroots Efforts Enough? After several years of slow progress, some of the earliest examples of open banking frameworks have begun to
February 07, 2024 Gen AI In Emerging Markets: Is The Hype Warranted? In an otherwise difficult funding environment, slapping “AI’ onto any product or service has become shorthand for “we’
January 10, 2024 Three Fintech Trends From 2023 — And How They May Look In 2024 In 2023, the dichotomy between success and failure in the fintech world never felt more stark. Emerging technologies
December 14, 2023 Sanctions And CFT: Recent Palestinian And Russian Case Studies In a world of widening economic sanctions, de-risking efforts by banks too often leave expats and immigrants from
November 15, 2023 Psychometrics: What Makes A Reliable Borrower? With various forms of data proving insufficient or invasive (or both), the quest for privacy-protective — yet repayment-predictive — data
July 26, 2023 Inclusion Through Gig Work: A Tricky Venture The idea to utilize gig work for financial inclusion purposes is obvious, yet its manifestation is elusive. The
July 12, 2023 Bridging The Access-Usage Gap, Literacy Efforts Aren’t Key — Addressing Need Is Even following COVID’s turbocharge of digital uptake, the slower gains in usage compared to access renders financial
June 28, 2023 Venture Philanthropy: Data for Good? On the heels of the dot-com bubble, the intersection of private and public interests (and capital) resulted in
June 14, 2023 South Africa: A Model Of Stability Or Stymied Innovation? Fintech in South Africa is one of many caveats. A country with a highly banked population — yet one
May 31, 2023 Small Scale Series: Island Hopping Across the Caribbean Approximately 45 million people spread out over 7,000 islands, 13 independent countries, 20 territories, six official languages,
May 17, 2023 Post-SVB: Are Emerging Markets Digital Banks’ Oasis? As funding goes dry and rising interest rates threaten some fintechs predicated on cheap money, the recent collapse
April 26, 2023 Japanese Fintech: Teach An Old Dog New Tricks? The world’s third-largest economy and oldest populace, Japan’s economic and financial path is unlike any other.
April 19, 2023 Small Scale Series: Tiny Markets in West Africa When it comes to fintech, scale sells. Any start-up seeking sustainability requires a measure of scale in a
April 05, 2023 Regulation: Time to Ask for Permission And Not Forgiveness The common saying “ask for forgiveness and not permission” has never been more contentious than it is in
March 22, 2023 Israel: Can Sentiment Alter A Tech Sector’s Trajectory? With the “Start-up Nation” brand and all, Israel punches far above its weight when it comes to tech.
March 08, 2023 Where Refugee Fintech Falls Short Efforts to provide financial solutions to displaced populations have seen some progress, particularly in stable contexts where business
March 01, 2023 Are Colleges Failing At Blockchain? Surf the internet, and you’ll find countless Twitter wars and Op-Eds about blockchain and cryptocurrencies, especially following