Middle East & North Africa

Agent Network Management Training, Morocco

Context: As part of the Payment Digitalization project, Al Barid Bank Morocco, subsidiary of Groupe Poste Maroc, is developing a network of agents to make banking services accessible to all and everywhere in the country. The bank wants to allow both customers and non-customers, to benefit from an agent banking offer at competitive rates.  A training program was designed to help people directly involved in the agent network management acquires the skills needed to run the new banking channel.

Objectives: At the end of the training, the trained staff should have acquired the necessary skills to effectively deploy and manage a successful agent network.

Deliverables: The first training was held in Marrakech for a 16-person cross-functional group of Al Barid Bank involved in the pilot phase of the project. The team included supervisors, field officers, and back office support officers. A second training took place in Casablanca for supervisors, managers and head office officers of Barid Cash, a payment subsidiary for a total of 16 people.

The training took the participants on the network development journey: From selection and recruitment to onboarding, from monitoring and to performance improvement, using case studies from different countries.

Mobile Money Market Scoping in two Middle East & North Africa countries: Egypt & Tunisia

Context: IFC needed a macroeconomic overview of Egypt and Tunisia including; financial and telecom sectors; regulatory environment and distribution network for mobile money service providers.

Objective: Evaluate opportunities to offer transformational mobile financial services initiatives and assess what role IFC could play to support development in the industry.

Deliverables: Diagnosis of the competitive landscape; defined strategy to enter the marketplace and provided recommendations on investors’ objectives.

Future of Financial Inclusion through Electronic Banking Channels Palestine

Context: Oxford Policy Management, ShoreBank International and the Palestinian Authority wanted to investigate how to reach and enhance the cost-effectiveness of delivery channels for banking and payments in Palestine.

Objective: Conduct a study on expanding available services at the point of sale; create a national payment switch and an interoperable ATM and POS network; develop the legal framework for electronic transactions, which support mobile financial services.

Deliverables: Assessment of market, technical and financial considerations for establishing a national switch company to connect all banks; deployment and management of POS to offer merchant acquiring services; recommendation on two scenarios to set up the company, and carried out project plans to execute both scenarios.

Feasibility Study for a Banking Services’ Company in Palestine 2011

Context: Review the market in West Bank for establishing and engaging a banking services company. The remit of this company would include the operation of a national switch and management of the POS and merchant acquiring.

Objective: Assess the payments landscape in Palestine and advise on how technology could cost-effectively enhance the reach of banking and payment products.

Deliverables: Produced report addressing the future of financial inclusion and recommendations on how to expand the service at POS; create a national and interoperable switch and prevent information assymetries that limit access to credit.