• Digital financial services
Feb 3, 2019

Since early 2017, the GIZ project Improving Access to Remittances and other Financial Services through Digital Solutions (Digi#ances) has been engaged in a development partnership with the mobile payment service provider Dinarak in Jordan. The public and private sector partners joined forces to strive towards one common goal: to advance access to and usage of digital financial services among low-income Jordanians, Syrian refugees and women. Leveraging one another’s strengths, the project engaged in a number of activities, including outreach and awareness building campaigns to enhance people’s understanding of digital financial services and its benefits. The project partners also collaborated on…

Since early 2017, the GIZ project Improving Access to Remittances and other Financial Services through Digital Solutions (Digi#ances) has been engaged in a development partnership with the mobile payment service provider Dinarak in Jordan.

The public and private sector partners joined forces to strive towards one common goal: to advance access to and usage of digital financial services among low-income Jordanians, Syrian refugees and women.

Leveraging one another’s strengths, the project engaged in a number of activities, including outreach and awareness building campaigns to enhance people’s understanding of digital financial services and its benefits. The project partners also collaborated on developing an extensive agent network in areas most affected by the Syrian refugee crisis in the North of Jordan.

Today, individuals have access to a network of over 400 Dinarak agent locations across the country, where they can open accounts and perform transactions such as deposits and withdrawals. Nearly 6,000 Syrian refugees have gained access to digital financial services since the beginning of the partnership, allowing them to safely store funds, send and receive remittances, and pay bills electronically. The partner has also been internationally recognized for its commitment to advance financial inclusion by being awarded the FinX2018 Financial Startup of the Year award.

To mark the successful completion of this two-year-long partnership, the project recently hosted a Development Partnership with the Private Sector (DPP) Closing Event. Participants included representatives from the Central Bank of Jordan, the financial services industry, as well as development and humanitarian aid organizations. The event was designed to reflect on highlights and lessons learned from the collaboration between public and private sector, as well as to discuss general challenges with reaching the target segment of refugees with mobile money.

Recognizing the difficulty, yet dire need to advance access to financial services for this “last mile” target segment, the Digi#ances project reiterated its commitment to continue working with public and private sector partners, including Dinarak, to further develop the digital financial services ecosystem in Jordan. More information about the project can be found here.

By Byoung Hwa Hwang