Recent efforts to strengthen the global financial system will ultimately contribute to greater financial stability and a safer world. However, the resultant de-risking is reportedly having a negative impact on banking in emerging markets. With this 2017 Correspondent Banking in Emerging Markets Survey of over 300 banking clients in 92 countries, IFC brings important new information and data to the de-risking discussion.
Technology and mobile penetration have revolutionised access to finance. The mobile phone, and the ability to transfer money digitally has helped give millions access to financial services. The phones have become ‘financial receptacles’ that can be used to perform safe and secure transactions giving people access wherever they are.
Nearly half (44.6%) of companies failed to protect payment card data on an ongoing basis. Despite the dangers, Verizon’s research shows that while PCI DSS compliance is improving, even among the companies that pass validation, nearly half fall out of compliance within a year—and many much sooner. This report delves into the detail of payment security and specifically PCI DSS compliance.
This survey was carried out on behalf of Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance (HCIF) and included individual responses from 502 companies in the U.K. Overall 67.13% of the companies surveyed have sought out external sources of financing in the past 12 months, although 35.06% of them will try to avoid borrowing money if at all possible.
Jessie Cheng is deputy general counsel at Ripple, a SME Finance Forum member, coauthors a Business Law Today article about the legality around payments for customers and businesses alike. The authors explain the legal framework for payments including the payment-system laws and customer-protection laws.
Still today, millions of women throughout the developing world don’t have access to institutional financial services because cultural stigmas linger long after the laws on the books recognize women’s rights. According to the World Bank’s Global Findex database, women in the developing economies are 20 percent less likely to have an account at a financial institution, and often even accounts under their names are de facto controlled by male relatives.
Interest in access to finance and awareness of its importance have increased significantly since the early 2000s. Growing evidence suggests that lack of access to credit prevents many households and firms from financing high-return investment projects, which has an adverse effect on growth and poverty alleviation. Still, there are some major gaps in our understanding of the main drivers of access, as well as about the impact of different policies in this area.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Fund (MBRF), a fund established by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai to finance the UAE's youth and SME projects, has now set up a post-fund monitoring service for its portfolio companies.
On a recent visit to Bangalore, India, CGAP worked with Janalakshmi Financial Services to deepen their understanding of microentrepreneurs through research and qualitative discussions. They found that the conventional measures used to assess larger businesses, such as formal credit history, the enterprise’s size and the number of years it has been in business, often incompletely assess the business acumen of microentrepreneurs.
In partnership with BDRC Continental, Ultimate Finance conducted research into the impact of late payments on the SME sector. The figures showed that late payments cause cashflow problems for UK SMEs. The main political parties have said they plan to end the issue with legislation such as late payment reporting.
