Technology is now deeply interwoven into the fabric of elections. Electoral management bodies, political parties, civil society actors, observers and citizens are all relying on one digital technological tool or another to ensure effective conduct and participation in elections. — Political parties are beginning to understand that without investments in this area their quest to win or retain political power at elections may not be achievable. …

The certainty of change for everything, including the internet, is a given. The changes we witness in the evolution of the Internet means significant new exciting services are driving the growth of many online applications. The first iteration of the Internet, web1 was static, made up of weblinks and homepages; then web2 came along, enabling users to create their own content seamlessly. Though web2 helped user content generation, the large tech companies providing services on the Internet had greater control and ownership of this user…

Money is a vital tool in our modern society. From the early days of barter, where physical items were used to facilitate the exchange, to the modern world, where paper notes and coins serve as legal tender, society’s need to find some form of instrument for exchanging goods and services remains vital. Advancements in modern digital technologies are giving rise to digital payments; with an emergence of privately issued digital currencies, including cryptocurrency. These developments have given rise to the need for central banks to consider issuing their own digital currency, known as a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). These can be…

Over 15 billion mobile devices are operating worldwide and the many Apps serve as a tool that enables users to utilize many services. In 1997 Nokia released their 6110 model which came with an in-built game called “snake”. Since then, mobile apps have grown into a multibillion service. Today, a typical mobile user cannot function without a personal, social, business, pleasure, education and religion mobile App.

Ghana’s Financial Technology (FinTech) is growing by leaps and bounds. The FinTech ecosystem in Ghana can be characterized as experiencing rapid transition from the “introduction to growth stage”. …

Launched in 2009, Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency. It inspired a host of others to be created, but so far none can match Bitcoin’s popularity and market capitalization. Bitcoin stands tall among other cryptocurrencies because it is backed by industrial-scale mining operations that support its value, and it has managed to achieve regulated market status in countries such as Asia, US and Europe and found its way onto the balance sheets of some publicly traded companies like Microstrategy (MSTR), Tesla (TSLA), Galaxy Digital Holdings (BRPHF), Voyager Digital (VYGVF) and Square (SQ).

Setting up a bank can be a long, expensive process with complex regulatory and compliance hurdles to overcome. However, with the emergence of Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), an entity can provide banking services without batting an eyelid. With BaaS, non-banks including FinTech, and other entities such as professional bodies or schools can offer their own branded financial products such as debit, credit, or loyalty cards.

For most people, WhatsApp is a cool tool for fun. So are Telegram, Signal, WeChat, Discord, iMessage, Messages, Viber, Facebook Message, Botim etc. However, WhatsApp with over a two billion users is undoubtedly the most popular of these. The widespread use and acceptance of WhatsApp as a messaging tool has many service providers aiming to make their services available on that platform in order to reach their numerous clients. In 2018 South Africa’s Absa Bank pioneered the concept of mobile banking. …

Date: Jan — 20–2022 , 13:03 Can you imagine a world without banking? I can’t. Banking is an indispensable part of our modern society. Even in the situation where cash is the king, banking services invariably form a core fabric of how most economies function. However, Banks are conservative, steeped in tradition and run-on legacy infrastructure, making it somewhat difficult to respond to customers’ changing needs and offer radical, innovative banking services.