First National Bank Namibia will migrate its credit card accounts from South Africa to provide better domestic service to cardholders. The bank hopes that localization will allow it to reduce fees and better reach the 45% of Namibians who are unbanked.

Wizzit is among the South African companies offering underbanked customers the opportunity to perform financial services transactions using their cell phones. More than a third of underbanked South Africans, often residents of townships and rural areas with no brick-and-mortar banks, have mobile ...

This study includes an analysis of remittance channels from workers in South Africa to their countries of origin in other parts of Southern Africa, a discussion of the barriers to formalization in the remittance market, and a number of policy recommendations.

Consumers are acquiring a taste for finance, they want retail financial products such as mortgages, car loans and current accounts that have been largely non-existent for the broader population in many emerging markets.

In this editorial, Vodacom Group CEO Alan Knott-Craig argues that South Africa's proposed RICA regulations requiring mobile phone companies to register prepaid consumers will disqualify the poorest customers from using cellphones, since they often lack formal addresses and identification numbers.

A new survey shows the vast majority of South Africans plan to continue using bank branches depsite the emergence of technology-driven alternatives. South Africans' continuing loyalty to the country's four major banks reflects their strong concern with online and physical safety, and ...

This opinion piece by Jeremy Leach of FinMark Trust describes the key role consumer education must play in the continued development of South Africa's financial services sector. See FinMark Trust's document "Preliminary Principles for Expanding Consumer Financial Literacy in SA", also posted ...

The use of loan sharks by the poor in South Africa continues to be a problem due to microlenders being slow to expand their lending beyond the working class. South African banks are attempting to combat this by creating "Mzansi" accounts for ...

This article discusses the need for microlenders to be innovative in their approach to providing micro-credit. Siting South Africa's micro-lenders it highlights how the money is used, the need for using non-traditional forms of collateral, and the development of basic business skills.

This article discusses the success of the South African International Business Linkages (SAIBL) program, which, among other things, provides funding and support services to black-owned small and medium enterprises.