Pay on Demand: The digital path to financial inclusion in Africa

Mastercard published a white paper titled ‘Pay on Demand: The digital path to financial inclusion in Africa’; which examines how access to financial services could promote digital inclusion. The paper looks at financial inclusion at the African continent with special focus on Pay on Demand digital solutions which ‘give people the ability to pay for what they use, as and when they need it, in small increments – whether it is electricity powered by solar energy, clean water, or education.’ According to the paper, the growth of Africa hinges on digital inclusion since it enables connecting people with more opportunities. It recommends all stakeholders – governments, mobile network operators (MNOs), small businesses, payment service providers, device manufacturers, financers – to collaborate on enabling digital inclusion; by democratising access to services and enabling access to economic growth, that leads to financial inclusion. To this aim, Mastercard recommends an ecosystem based on Pay on Demand as a way to enable digital inclusion which could contribute to increased financial inclusion in the African continent.