Agpaytech Research

The cost of sending money to Africa surpasses all regions in the world. According to the World Bank, sending $200 costs an average of 8.2% of the transaction compared to South Asia, which is 4.6%. While the remittance charges on formal money transfers are higher, migrants have adapted to informal ways through friends, unregistered remittance service providers, currency swapping, and “when I visit” techniques to send money home. For this reason, coupled with Covid-19, the aggregate remittance inflows to Africa declined by a sharp 14.1% during 2020 (Word Bank Group, 2021). This report investigates the factors that account for the high cost of remittance charges and provides holistic guidelines to reduce the charges. The report includes the global and regional remittance costs. Besides, the paper provided an overview of the remittances inflow pattern in Africa by region.

India's financial inclusion has increased, both in terms of cash and digital ecosystem. Its digital payments infrastructure development has aided in strengthening the economy. The infrastructure of UPI and e-wallets allow people to migrate to a digitalised and cashless society. The Government has undertaken several robust initiatives to empower the economy digitally. And it is doing so by including people financially and strengthening both the cash and digital payment options. However, the Payments Infrastructure requires specific policy considerations to provide the stakeholders with greater clarity and allow them to envisage better.

The payment systems in Africa have been revolutionised, from the barter trade system to modern digital currencies and mobile payments. The continent aims to improve its cash-dominated economy, and several reforms and financial technology approaches have been implemented both at the country and regional levels. The report provides details on the payment system available in each region (West, North, South, East, and Central Africa) and the promising opportunities for financial experts. It is interesting to know the major payment systems in Africa, each region and country; obstacles to achieving financial inclusion; and the need for a unified payment facility.

In March 2021, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank launched the Eastern Caribbean dollar(DCash) digital version as a legal tender. The ECCB partnered with several local and regional businesses and consumers to ensure that this form of currency is widely distributed and accepted. DCash was initially launched in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Christopher (St Kitts), Nevis, and Saint Lucia. It was introduced to ensure that transactions are more straightforward, transparent, and faster. To know more, please read our research report by clicking the link below.

Ghana E-Levy: Ghanaians start paying a 1.5% tax on electronic transactions from May 1. The levy applies to mobile electronic transaction that exceeds GH¢ 100. The Electronic Transfer Levy Act 2022 (Act 1075), assented into law and gazette on 31 March 2022, aims to widen the tax net and rope in the informal sector. The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is in charge of the e-levy collection. Now, let’s explore the new charges, inclusions, and exclusions of the e-levy and its impact on Ghana’s digitalisation drive.

The Chinese e-CNY is currently grasping global attention due to its widespread use and piloting at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Besides, the Peoples' Bank of China (PBOC) is pushing for global dominance and the use of e-CNY by partnering with neighbouring countries to experiment with a robust digital cross-border payment system. WeChat Pay has embraced the system, making it optional to pay with e-CNY or WeChat Pay.

One of the most significant contributions of the Cryptocurrency boom is the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) that powers it, commonly known as the Blockchain. This technology has the potential to become the backbone of the Fintech Industry. Blockchain frameworks are built on several principles, such as various rules of participation, network, specifications, and mechanisms. Some are open, permissionless networks, and some are closed design frameworks; individual use cases and utility are used to determine it.

The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) race has witnessed tremendous participation from many countries globally. China and Nigeria are leading the CBDC implementation in Asia and Africa. Meanwhile, Technology Service Providers are working restlessly to provide sophisticated technical support to CBDCs. This report gives a clear picture of the CBDC progress of each continent and the fintech companies providing the technology services.

This report highlights Ghana’s backed digital currency (eCedi) and Mobile Money (MM) Payment in Ghana. It focused on the global perspective of mobile money and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), their associated features, design models, and potential implications and interrelationships in achieving cash lite economy.

The Nigeria Central Bank partnered with Bitt Inc. to design and launch eNaira, Africa’s first CBDC. The eNaira aims to provide a fast and resilient payment system whiles broadening the financial inclusion.

Africa's appetite for digital currencies is growing expressively. While Ghana is piloting its central bank digital currency (eCedi), Nigeria has launched its e-Naira. This paper provides an expectation of the architectural insights of eCedi.

In the Domestic Financial Ecosystem, many Central Banks have managed significant inroads in understanding the frameworks for introducing Central Bank Digital Currencies

A technology that has refused to digital money, global payments, and applications is known as Ethereum. The Ethereum community has led to a booming digital economy

Blockchain is one of the most promising technologies that is immutable, reliable and operates a lot quicker and in affordable rates.

The First Country globally to launch its central bank digital currency (cbdc),The sand dollar.one of the primary objective is to combat the financial problems originating from natural disaster