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Invite you to the release of a new CGAP Focus Note
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| Could A Mobile Phone Replace A Bank Branch? |
| |
| Join us for the release of a new CGAP Focus Note, which|
| addresses the policy implications of branchless banking.|
| Regulating Transformational Branchless Banking: Mobile Phones|
| and Other Technology to Increase Access to Finance is based on|
| assessments of policy and regulation in seven key countries,|
| including interviews with hundreds of people from governments,|
| the private sector, and international organizations in Brazil,|
| India, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia and South|
| Africa. Basic, everyday financial services are out of reach|
| for more than two billion people in developing countries. But|
| the rapid growth of branchless banking - including mobile phone|
| banking - is reducing the cost and expanding the availability of|
| such services. |
| |
| While much of the current buzz is around mobile phones, other|
| branchless banking applications are gaining traction as well.|
| Brazil?s increase in access to finance has been accomplished|
| largely through the more than 95,000 banking "correspondents" -|
| local merchants and post offices that act as agents for banks,|
| equipped with card-swipe and barcode-reading point-of-sale (POS)|
| terminals. In Russia, a broad network of bank ATMs, POS|
| terminals, and online e-money providers offer transaction|
| services outside of traditional branch offices. |
| |
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Thursday, February 7, 2008
4:00 - 6:00 pm
World Bank J Building, Auditorium J1-050
Note: This button will also add the event to your Lotus Notes
calendar
A reception will follow the presentation
Chaired by
Elizabeth Littlefield
CEO of CGAP and Director, World Bank
Discussed by
Gautam Ivatury
Manager, Technology Program, World Bank
Tim Lyman
Senior Policy Adivsor, World Bank
Mark Pickens
Microfinance Analyst, World Bank
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About CGAP
CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) is a consortium of
33 bilateral and multilateral development agencies and private
foundations committed to building financial systems that work for
the poor in developing countries. Headquartered in Washington, D.C.,
and housed at the World Bank, CGAP is a global resource center for
the microfinance industry, setting standards, offering technical and
advisory services, training, and information on best practices, in
addition to providing funding for innovative projects. CGAP's
Technology Program, co-funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, seeks technology approaches that help provide a variety
of financial services to poor and excluded people, at large scale
and in a viable way, within a regulatory system that encourages
their development.
For more information, please visit http://www.cgap.org/technology.
About DFID
DFID, the Department for International Development, leads the
British Government?s fight against world poverty. DFID supports
long-term programs to help eliminate the underlying causes of
poverty. DFID also responds to emergencies, both natural and
man-made. Its work forms part of the global goal to attain the eight
?Millennium Development Goals? by 2015. DFID works directly in over
150 countries worldwide, with a budget of some £5.9 billion in 2006.
For more information, please visit http://www.dfid.gov.uk.
About the InfoShop
The InfoShop is the public information center of the World Bank and
serves as a forum for substantial debate on international
development. Our extensive events program consists of more than 250
events over the past two years and has hosted many internationally
recognized speakers including Queen Noor, Francis Fukuyama, Jeffrey
Sachs, Amartya Sen, Joseph Stiglitz, Thomas Friedman, and Carly
Fiorina. The InfoShop functions as the only publicly accessible
space at headquarters and provides internal and external audiences
with over 15,000 titles published by the World Bank, international
organizations, and other publishers on development issues.
For more information, visit: www.worldbank.org/infoshop
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