The UN’s International Telecommunication Union recently rolled out a “Cyber Security Resilience Assessment toolkit for DFS Critical Infrastructure” to help regulators and practitioners protect the systems that make digital financial services possible. The toolkit is based on the following “pillars”: Risk Management, Governance, Testing, Training & Awareness, Protection, and Incident Response. ITU also offers in-person and remote “security clinics” several times per year.

Rawbank of Democratic Republic of Congo, through its illicocash unit, recently announced plans to offer virtual payment cards to facilitate its customers’ participation in e-commerce. The cards will carry the brand of the US-based firm Mastercard. Karim Nouri, the general manager of illicocash, said the new service “is a crucial addition to our digital services portfolio that addresses the needs of the unbanked and underbanked.” The app’s other services include paying bills, making online purchases, and sending and receiving remittances. Rawbank has 500,000 users, and illicocash has 300,000.

The Reserve Bank of India, citing “persistent non-compliance” with rules relating to “falsifying customer information and money laundering” has told Paytm, a fintech with 330 million users in India, that it may no longer accept deposits into its customers’ e-wallets. The company has denied wrongdoing.

Customers will continue to be able to use their balances after the February 29 deposit deadline. They also will continue to have access to the Paytm app to make transfers among third-party financial services providers.

Paytm’s mobile money wallet allows balances up to the equivalent of USD 2,400. The firm’s services include allowing businesses to accept electronic payments as well as helping customers access payment cards and third-party services such as insurance, loans, investment products, bill payments, and event and travel tickets. Paytm is a publicly traded firm that was founded in 2010.

Revolut, a UK-based fintech with 35 million customers in 150 countries, recently added a mobile wallet feature to its product menu, allowing users in Europe to send money to individuals in Bangladesh and Kenya, based on the recipient's phone number or email address. People in Bangladesh can access funds via the bKash mobile money services, which is affiliated with the Bangladeshi NGO BRAC. In Kenya, recipients can access funds via M-Pesa, a service of UK-based Vodafone.

"Sending money home is a problem many expats face and so it is essential to provide a service that simplifies this and facilitates affordable and convenient international money transfers," said Akshat Mittal, Revolut's General Manager for International Payments. Revolut, which was launched in 2015, offers services such as insurance, investments, peer-to-peer chat, payment-card processing and vacation-home rental. The firm reports having brought in total revenue of USD 1.1 billion during 2022.

This annual gathering is intended to promote innovations in technology that “are making a measurable difference millions of lives” through humanitarian relief, development projects and conservation efforts. The event’s themes include digital inclusion, digital health, food security, agriculture, and youth engagement and employment. The primary sponsor is the US-based NGO Catholic Relief Services. The cost to attend ranges from USD 250 to USD 1,000. For further information, you may contact the organizers via +1 757 748 5003 or adminict4dconf@crs.org.

Mr Budiman et al present several examples of successful implementa­tions of rural cash-in / cash-out agent networks, which enable customers to exchange cash for electronic money and vice versa. According to the Global Findex, 1.4 billion adults are financially excluded, and 31 percent of this group lives far from any financial institutions. Rural CICO agent networks are one way to address this gap in access to financial services.

Bancolombia invested in rural CICO agents in Colombia, allowing these private ventures to reach a significant number of rural customers. Without such an in­vestor, rural enterprises may find the up-front cost of becoming agents too high. Government subsidies can help, as can technical assistance from domestic and international investors.

To expand rural CICO agent networks, the authors suggest that providers of digital financial services: (1) carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the rural market in question; (2) consider outsourcing agent training to a third party; (3) in addition to training rural agents, create a salesforce to build rural demand; and (4) focus on engaging women as agents.