Cenfri has broad experience in fit-for-purpose payment systems in emerging markets, particularly in Africa. We work towards making retail payments a public good, assisting central banks, payments operators and payment system participants navigate domestic and cross-border payments modernisation in a manner that contributes to economic inclusion. We have worked extensively in instant/faster retail payment systems and in improving access to remittances for low-income households. Other projects range from diagnostic and landscaping studies, developing a national payments vision, to analysing payments legislation and regulation, and feasibility studies on central bank digital currency (CBDC). The convergence of payments and identity, as well as the focus on digitising the entire value chain rather than limited use cases, is central to our theory of change in digital payments. We have worked with IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances, the World Bank, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, AfricaNenda, FSD Africa, FSD Kenya, GIZ, UNCDF, BankservAfrica, Finmark Trust, the African Union and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. |
Real-time retail payments that enable consumers to send and receive cross-border and domestic transactions digitally are on the rise globally. The increasing proliferation of QR codes, apps, tap-and-go card technology, and small-value payments using proxy identifiers (aliases) such as phone numbers and email addresses have made payments one of
There’s no disputing the contribution of migrant remittances to the economic well-being of friends and family back home. For many African countries, the value of remittance flows exceeds that of foreign direct investment. However accessing the money via formal channels can be challenging for recipients who are faced with Know
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many African governments have implemented policy changes and lockdowns to prevent the further spread of the virus to vulnerable populations. In countries with high levels of mobile money penetration, governments have been able to leverage digital payments to avoid cash, which can act
This seven-part research series provides a detailed analysis of the market barriers to formal cross-border remittances in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The research series includes recommendations for different stakeholder groups on how to overcome the current pain points. In-depth remittances case studies from Uganda, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Ethiopia show how the
Many discussions around retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) today revolve around ambitious policy-focused use cases. Most recently, in the face of potential competition from a growing assortment of innovative private crypto-assets like Bitcoin and stablecoins such as Facebook’s Libra, central bankers around the world have been consumed with the
International migration has become such a pressing global issue that one can hardly read or watch the news without hearing about it. Migration is typically driven by economic interest or forced displacements. Though it often delivers substantial benefits to the migrants themselves, it has also led to social upheaval and
Policymakers, development organisations and sometimes even private sector players, often rely on financial inclusion data uncovered through consumer or ‘demand-side’ surveys. However, insight2impact has been exploring the analysis of financial transaction data to generate new insights on people’s financial behaviour. We have partnered with government institutions and commercial banks to
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of people, and the financial and other systems that underpin much of our daily existence. Remittance recipients in Africa are likely to be particularly hard hit by both the immediate and longer-term effects of the pandemic. In 2018 alone, personal remittance flows to
The impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods in Africa – The effect on remittances Cenfri hosted an Africa digital dialogues series in partnership with the Digital Frontiers Institute (DFI) to explore the impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods in Africa. The first of the three-part series focused on the impact on migrants
The slowdown in economic activity brought about by the spread of Covid-19 has already been felt in the Northern Hemisphere where restrictions to the movement of people and goods are having significant adverse impact on economic growth and individual livelihoods. But what will the impact be on the Global South
The need for complementary private health insurance offerings in sub-Saharan Africa For many Africans, the ability to withstand and recover from health-related shocks remains fundamental to ensuring financial resilience. According to the latest FinScope Surveys across 11 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries [1], approximately a third of individuals who faced a
