1. MICROFINANCE GOING CASHLESS:
Results And Lessons Learned from
Payments to Asset-Building
Lessons from piloting mobile financial services at
CARD Bank in the Philippines
October 10, 2013

2. CARD Bank Mobile Financial Services Pilot
1) Objective 1: Improving operational efficiency
2) Objective 2: Improving access and
convenience
3) Objective 3: Demonstrate sustainable
account and transaction volume

3. Delivery Model
CASH-IN
Nanay Violy
CASH-OUT
CARD Bank Agent

4. Time and cost to client of making a
withdrawal
Travel & transaction
cost (Php)
Withdrawal cost
Withdrawal time in Peso
MFS saves time:
103 min (116 minus 13)
140
Declined
aggregate cost
120
100
80
Member’s earning capacity:
P300/day = P37.5/hr
= P0.63/min
Opportunity cost saving:
P0.63 x 103min = P65
60
40
20
Financial cost decrease: P22
0
Control
Treatment
Total Cost Saving: P65 + P22 = P87 per withdrawal

5. Transactions on Weekends
by Income Type
Average number of transactions
on a weekend
PPI ($2.5/day)
38.3%
48.7%
49.6%
Proportion of transactions made
on weekends
26.4%
• Casual laborers use MFS over weekends
– Potential to improve financial inclusion
– 55 out of 254 members surveyed (20%) are casual laborers

6. Key Pilot Results
• Improving operational efficiency
– Time-saving for AOs: center meeting time could be cut by at
least 50%
• Improving access and convenience
– Successful adoption of MFS in general
– MFS reduces time & financial cost of making transactions
– Casual laborers use MFS more frequently over weekends
• Sustainable account & transaction volume
– No change in loan volume
– Slight increase in missed installments
– Training attendance and customer satisfaction are correlated

7. THANK YOU
Julie Peachey
Country Director, Philippines
Grameen Foundation
jpeachey@grameenfoundation.org

8. Sample
average
CARD Bank MFS Member Profile
Main source of personal income
PPI: Likelihood below
$2.5/day
42.3%
PPI: Likelihood below
national poverty line
24.9%
Own a mobile phone
81.8%
Mobile phone in the
house
95.5%
Have used mobile
money services
24.81%
Comfortable with SMS
94.0%
Satisfied with savings
44.6%