COVID-19 FinDev Weekly Update | 25 Jun - 01 Jul 2020

FinDev Gateway has created this COVID-19 weekly update with the latest and most relevant knowledge resources for financial inclusion as they become available. Sign up to receive FinDev's weekly update each Friday with a summary of the main issues covered during the week. 

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Global Summary

• Donor and government plans for coronavirus recovery understate the potential impact of the crisis in reversing the gains made on gender equality over many years, according to a new brief by ISF Advisors & RAF Learning Lab. The analysis shows how the crisis might affect the rural, informal micro-enterprises which are often disproportionately run by women.
• Healthcare out-of-pocket expenses are a major burden for households in low- and middle-income countries, according to a recent CGAP blog. To address this, the financial inclusion community should focus on solutions that build poor people’s resilience through insurance, credit, and digital payments.
• Solar payment data from Bboxx in four African countries shows that energy spending for up to 20 percent of Bboxx’s customers has significantly decreased, likely due to the impact of the pandemic on household finances.  

Asia

• Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank has reported a 15 percent year-on-year increase in digital remittances and a 10 percent year-on-year increase in cardless ATM withdrawals over the past three months during coronavirus lockdown. In India, after an initial decline, digital payments are back to pre-COVID levels. 
• In Nepal, IFAD and the UN migration agency IOM are supporting migrants forced to return home as jobs abroad dry up.
• The sharp decline in remittances to Myanmar is having a significant impact on poor and low-income households, many of whom will be pushed into poverty and food insecurity. The government recently announced relief measures which include unconditional cash and in-kind transfers to the most vulnerable and affected households.
• An MSC survey on MSMEs in India shows the impact and coping strategies of MSMEs and provides policy recommendations to support the sector. Reduced demand and disrupted supply chains have affected MSME income, though some businesses have benefited from customer bulk buying.

Africa

• Zimbabwe banned mobile money services amid a local currency crisis. “On Monday, EcoCash, the largest mobile payment company announced that individual transactions and bill payments would still be permitted.”
• In Uganda, shared agent networks allow customers to access banking services regardless of which provider’s agent they visit.
• IFC extended a $50 million loan to Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to ensure SMEs continue to have access to finance during the pandemic.
• The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has launched a program to refinance lending institutions in the West African Economic and Monetary Union. The program will help address SMEs’ liquidity needs. 
• The Central Bank of Uganda says that over half of Uganda’s commercial banks would have collapsed had the Central Bank mandated a three-month loan moratorium at the beginning of the pandemic, based on the results of a stress test it conducted.

For more on Africa, check out the latest Portail FinDev Weekly Update in French.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Most articles and knowledge resources referenced in this section are in Spanish.

• The Central Bank of Brazil announced that its instant payment platform Pix will allow cash withdrawals in retail stores. Pix is expected to take off in November or earlier, while WhatsApp payments have been suspended.
• In Argentina, state-owned banks will team up with commercial banks to create a digital payments platform that will serve over 10 million customers, competing with the country’s largest platform, Mercado Pago.
• Rappi (an on-demand delivery startup) and Banorte (a top Mexican bank) joined forces to create a fintech that will seek a full banking license and will focus on customers in need of digital services.
• The Peruvian Congress has asked the Central Bank to direct at least 50 percent of loans from the country’s national economic recovery program to microfinance institutions. The Central Bank says the requirement is unconstitutional. 

For more on LAC, check out the latest Portal FinDev Weekly Update in Spanish.

Arab World

• The World Bank recently launched a $374 million project, co-financed with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), that will benefit 270,000 poor households with cash payments in Jordan.The Bank also approved a $500 million project for Morocco that will support the country’s financial inclusion and digital inclusion reforms.
• Telecommunications company Ooredoo Tunisia and the microfinance institution, ENDA Tamweel, signed a partnership agreement that will enable them to expand their market reach.

For more on the Arab world and resources in Arabic, check out the latest FinDev Weekly Update in Arabic.