Microfinance Technology Headlines for Dec. 4, 2007

by Jim Rosenberg: Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Brazil’s ACSP Launches Global FICO Consumer Credit Scores
Fair Isaac and Associacao Comercial de Sao Paulo (ACSP), one of the largest credit bureaus in Brazil, have announced ACSP’s launch of Global FICO Score for Brazilian businesses - saying that “the launch of this innovative consumer credit-risk score makes Brazil the first South American nation to access Fair Isaac’s global-standard FICO credit risk scoring technology.”

Mexican telecoms sector sees 31.1% growth in Q3
The Mexican telecommunications sector saw 31.1 percent growth in Q3 2007 vs the year-earlier period, according to figures from Cofetel, Mexican telecommunications regulator. The growth is the highest for seven years. The growth is 10 percentage points higher than in Q2 2007 vs the year-earlier.

Full-spectrum dominance - Telecoms in India
India has met its ambitious target, set two years ago, of 250m fixed and mobile-phone connections. But the government is sadly unprepared. It has not given India’s mobile operators enough space on the radio spectrum to carry calls crisply and reliably. India, the operators complain, faces a “spectrum crunch”.

Tanzania reaches 7.7 mln phone subscribers in Q3
The number of mobile phone users in Tanzania reached 7.562 million at the end of September, up from 6.720 million at the end of June. The fixed-line user base at TTCL fell to 160,964 from 169,135 three months earlier, according to figures from the Tanzania Communications Authority.

Indian Bank pacts with NCR for e-ticket, portable ATM¼br> Indian Bank today said it has partnered with NCR Corporation, engaged in design and deployment of portable ATM centres for many Indian banks, for launching its first e-ticket kiosk and portable ATM centre.

Dabbawallas, postmen helping banks extend access to services
Across India, and notably in Mumbai, banks are using “correspondents”, or people who effectively serve as extensions of branches, in an effort to reach out to people who do not have access to banks and banking services. One such bank, the Corporation Bank, is using the city’s famed dabbawallas, the men who ferry hot lunches to office goers across the city, as its correspondents.

Bharti to tie-up with Barclays for mobile banking
Bharti Telesoft, software arm of telecom major Bharti Enterprises, is close to signing a deal with UK-based Barclays Bank for providing mobile banking services to the latter’s customers.

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