This is an observation by an employee of a telecommunications giant. It made me think about issues that the unbanked and underbanked have in today’s competitive banking environment.
Firstly, innovative payment service systems need to overcome [formidable] cultural, financial, political, and socio-technological regulatory hurdles. They need to meld incredibly divergent cultures within the FinTech ecosystem while addressing contradictory regulatory restraints that mire forward momentum that hinders more fluid advances and development within the banking sector.
Secondly, FinTechs are adaptable, bold, and innovative, whereas traditional banks are cautious, conservative, and slow to adapt. Traditional banks are slow to implement framework change, particularly for donor agencies, related not-for-profits (NGOs), and state organizations. Any developments without engagement and investment from the private sector are misconstrued as inaccessible and impossible.
These are concerns that the unbanked and underbanked continue to address. Even though technological advancement has made the banking process easier, primary issues remain. The governing processes create bureaucratic quagmires, red-tape impedes the “velocity of money,” the fundamental foundation of economic activity.
Thankfully, tenacious FinTechs and telecommunication behemoths continue to address these issues, a reluctance to engage with traditional institutions due to their problems, such as a geographical lack of sound infrastructure or a lack of impetus. However, companies such as YouTap have already successfully emerged with solutions to these problems. Youtap has identified gaps in the unbanked marketplace. They have realized the [obvious] demand for cheaper, more efficient ways to move money around. This observation has seen an increase in the unbanked embracing and utilizing their services. Whether for bill or salary payments, to the [substantial] remittance market is often their only source of income.
This financial lifeline for the societal underbelly is the attention and priority it has needed and deserved for a long time. Getting cash into the hands of people who can use it is no longer limited to the supply side of the equation. The demand-side can finally move money around, regardless of their ethnicity, geography, or social status.
