Archive for: Middle East-North Africa

Summer is now officially over here in Washington and the busy fall season is off to a quick start. If you are just getting back into high gear, maybe this is a good time for us to recap some of the things we’ve been discussing on the blog over the last couple months, some of the latest news that’s caught our attention, and some things to keep your eye on in the coming weeks.

The South African bank FNB has recently launched its latest mobile banking offering Pay2Cell which allows FNB account holders to make payments to other FNB clients using only the recipient’s mobile phone number. This is a different product offering from FNB’s eWallet which allows FNB account holders to send money to anybody with a mobile phone. The recipient does not need a bank account and can withdraw the cash at any FNB ATM.

South Africa is one of the 7 markets that we covered in our recently released branchless banking country notes. The other countries include India, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil, Ghana, and WAEMU in West Africa. The report for WAEMU is now also available in French – la version en français UEMOA.

An active branchless banking provider in West Africa, Orange has recently launched the Orange African Social Venture Prize. This initiative aims to reward innovative projects using ICT for social and economic development in Africa. In this contest, 3 winners will be selected and will receive financial grants along with 6-months of mentoring support from management and ICT experts. The project should target at least one country where Orange has a footprint and the prizes will be announced during the AfricaCom Awards in Cape Town in November. The deadline for applications is the end of September. Read more about it here.

Staying in West Africa, Nigeria continues to buzz with branchless banking activity. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently issued operating licenses to 11 mobile money firms. As this article explains:

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CHF has operations in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen, providing microfinance and community development programs and services. Recently we spoke with Moustafa H. Khalifeh, Director of Finance and IT at CHF International, Middle East about some of the challenges faced when it comes to using technology. This is part of a new survey on the issue which you can read here. And we’re hosting a webinar on MIS for MFIs on June 3.

What type of software did you have when you decided to seek advice about a new system?
We had an in-house developed system, non web-based, using Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL server.

What issues were you facing with your information system (IS) that led you to seek advice from outside experts? 
The old system was centralized in the main office in Iraq. Access to the system was only available for staff inside the main office, which has the full data entry and system operations. No access had been available to the branches since the system in not web-based. That was the major problem.

Limited reporting capabilities were also was a major factor that led us to look for other solution. The old system also didn’t allow much flexibility identifying new loan products and changing the methods of calculating interest. The programmer needed to change the source code every time. The new system gives the system administrator the ability to design and add as many new products and sub-products as needed.

What did the consultant recommend and how have you addressed the recommendations?
All recommendations were related to program specific needs and system development needs. We had issues of internet connectivity speed, and we’ve been working on enhancing the internet speed in the branch offices, since VSAT technology is very expensive and not very fast. Most of the recommendations have been taken care of — either developed in the system or through adjusting procedures.

Does the new solution address the challenges you faced with your previous system? What other benefits have you experienced?
We wouldn’t have achieved the current volume of disbursements under the old system. Web Abacus is a very strong system and enabled us to build and manage different loan products with different terms and interest calculations in addition to giving the system the ability to manage different funds and donors with strong reporting capabilities.

What have been the downsides of replacing your system?
Switching from the old, centralized solution and implementing a new decentralized, web-based project involved a lot of staff, a lot of follow-up, and a lot of coordination between developers and system users.

In what other ways, if any, do you plan on incorporating technology into your operations? Do you think technology plays a large role in helping you to reach your operational goals?
Technology is very important and very helpful to support the rapid expansion of our project. We are doing our best to add automation to our operations in any way we can. For example, we have future plans to enable clients make repayment through mobiles, so the client wouldn’t need to go to the bank to make the payment.

Europe turns nose up at mobile banking
Mobile banking could be failing to capture the imagination of consumers, according to a
survey of 2,500 retail financial services customers across Europe. The research, conducted by TNS on behalf of Fujitsu Services, found 65 percent of respondents prefer to access banking services online. nly five percent of the sample said mobile banking is the channel of choice. Physically going to a branch is the second choice, at 53 percent. The findings differ from a UK-only survey which put face-to-face or voice interaction as the preferred method of accessing banks.

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