Empowering consumers in emerging markets with mobile money technology can only go so far unless that mobile platform is widely adopted “” not only by consumers, but also by merchants and other payers as well. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) knows this, and it’s a main factor behind the organization’s recent partnership with Citi.
As USAID’s Priya Jaisinghani explains, the joint effort between USAID and Citi is “not a financial agreement,” or just a corporate sponsorship of a developmental effort. In this case, the two groups are delivering a coordinated message to all parties in the commerce ecosystem: consumers, corporate employers (and Citi clients) like Coca-Cola and Proctor and Gamble, and government agencies, which frequently dispense funds through benefit payments.
Jaisinghani and colleague Charlie Johnson join PYMNTS.com for an in-depth conversation about this new mobile money partnership, and what impact it might have on the commerce system in several developing countries over the balance of 2012.
Empowering consumers in emerging markets with mobile money technology can only go so far unless that mobile platform is widely adopted — not only by consumers, but also by merchants and other payers as well. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) knows this, and it’s a main factor behind the organization’s recent partnership with Citi.
As USAID’s Priya Jaisinghani explains, the joint effort between USAID and Citi is “not a financial agreement,” or just a corporate sponsorship of a developmental effort. In this case, the two groups are delivering a coordinated message to all parties in the commerce ecosystem: consumers, corporate employers (and Citi clients) like Coca-Cola and Proctor and Gamble, and government agencies, which frequently dispense funds through benefit payments.
Jaisinghani and colleague Charlie Johnson join PYMNTS.com for an in-depth conversation about this new mobile money partnership, and what impact it might have on the commerce system in several developing countries over the balance of 2012.
USAID has been the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms since 1961.
With headquarters in Washington, D.C., USAID’s strength is its field offices around the world where we work in close partnership with private voluntary organizations, indigenous organizations, universities, the private sector, international agencies, other governments, and other U.S. Government agencies.
The organization provides assistance in five regions of the world:
Sub-Saharan Africa Asia Latin America and the Caribbean Europe and Eurasia The Middle East
USAID has working relationships with thousands of American companies and hundreds of U.S.-based private voluntary organizations.
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USAID has been the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms since 1961.