Most of us acknowledge that it all began with a period of exceptionally strong global economic growth in the mid-2000s, some creative financial engineering, an explosion of leverage and a speculative bubble that touched a lot of markets. The bubble burst when the U.S. housing market rolled over and some significant financial vulnerabilities were laid bare.
Specifically, electronic methods to conduct financial and payment services, such as Point of Sale (POS) devices using stored value cards, and mobile phones using communication networks, are innovations that were well adapted to microfinance. Some banks in Fiji have now introduced wireless Point of Sale devices with their agents, with both withdrawal and deposit capabilities, to be used with stored value cards.