Archive | Information and Communications Technology RSS feed for this section
Economics, Finance sector development, Information and Communications Technology
Economics, Finance sector development, Information and Communications Technology
Governance and public sector management, Industry and trade, Information and Communications Technology, Private sector development
Finance sector development, Information and Communications Technology
Education, Information and Communications Technology
Industry and trade, Information and Communications Technology, Private sector development
Finance sector development, Governance and public sector management, Information and Communications Technology
Capacity development, Education, Information and Communications Technology, Social development and protection
Economics, Industry and trade, Information and Communications Technology
Economics, Finance sector development, Information and Communications Technology
Fintech development transforming the financial landscape in the People’s Republic of China
Financial technology (fintech) is rapidly changing the financial landscape in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with important implications for financial inclusion and macroeconomic stability (Huang 2020). Fintech in the PRC started at the end of 2004 when the mobile payment service Alipay first came online. However, fintech did not grow dramatically until 2013, when the online money market fund Yu’ebao started to receive investments from Alipay users.
Digital transformation poses potential risks for stability and the financial industry
Digital transformation is changing how and by whom financial services are provided, bringing benefits to consumers in the form of expanded and simplified access to financial services. However, this transformation is also affecting the financial services industry in ways that could lead to greater risks to systemic financial stability.
The value creation potential of platforms
The rapid success of modern platforms is a testament to their ability to scale efficiently to the needs of many while providing an undeniable and significant advantage over the older methods that had so far dominated value exchanges. Powered by the public Internet and robust local connectivity, digital platforms rose to the challenge of developing newer, more efficient alternatives in their respective focus areas.
Closing the gender gap in peer-to-peer lending
Financial inclusion for women has been embraced by policy makers as an important development priority. However, despite women having lower risk preferences and higher creditworthiness, the gender gap in access to finance is still prevalent in the traditional credit market. This is due to various factors, such as differences in employment opportunities, legal obstacles, cultural norms, and limited access to the guarantee mechanism, among others.
E-learning to enhance capacities in Asia and the Pacific
The digital age poses both challenges and opportunities for many developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. In recent years, we have seen jobs in various sectors become obsolete. At the same time, we see new economic spaces being created demanding new skills and competencies. This also necessitates finding innovative ways to facilitate learning and to promote knowledge sharing, especially in the context of economic development.
Expanding trade opportunities for SMEs in Asia and the Pacific
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Asian economy. They already account for over 95% of all businesses in Asia and employ an estimated 60% of the region’s workforce (Mastercard and the Economist Intelligence Unit 2019). Hence, helping SMEs grow can translate directly into economic and workforce expansion.
Will Facebook’s Libra scramble the regulatory calculus for crypto assets?
There are currently over 2,000 crypto assets like Bitcoin that can be exchanged for goods and services in many countries anonymously, instantaneously, and at any time. These emerging forms of private sector money, or crypto currencies, provide their own units of account and are based on ledger technology such as blockchain which makes the falsification of transaction data difficult. Unlike cash, transactions using crypto assets are also technically traceable and a positive or negative interest rate can be charged, potentially improving the effectiveness of monetary policy.
T20 and realizing education for all in the Digital Age
Education is a key driver for sustainable development (UNESCO 2018). However, the goal of realizing education for all in the Digital Age faces two major challenges. First, many countries and economies are still not ensuring quality education for all. Millions of children and youth still lack the necessary tools to realize their potential amid economic, political, and social strife. Second, with the emergence of the fourth Industrial Revolution and the growing use of automation, big data, and artificial intelligence, human labor is being substituted increasingly by machines or algorithms.
The spillover effects of digital platforms
“Over-the-top” (OTT) service providers are referred to as so because they allegedly ride exclusively on top of the infrastructure laid by telecommunications service providers. Hidden behind the term OTT is the notion that such providers do not invest in the network infrastructure yet provide the same services as telecommunications service providers. While this may seem intuitive to some through a cursory examination of the marketplace, what such assertions fail to consider are the numerous “edge-of-the-network” investments by OTT service providers as well as the massive efficiency, flexibility, and propensity-to-scale inherent in OTT business models.
Fintech adaptation can bridge Asia’s SME financing divide
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role as a driving force in economies around the world, especially in Asia. SMEs in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region are estimated to comprise more than 98% of the total number of enterprises, and they contribute to around 40% of gross domestic product.
Recent Comments