Ecommerce players in emerging markets often face challenges with cash management due to low card adoption and customer trust issues, leading to a need for innovative solutions like payment upon delivery.
M-Pesa in Kenya revolutionized cashless payments with its mobile money network, which played a crucial role in enabling online commerce and providing a solution for payment workflows in the region.
Creating unique solutions, like using M-Pesa for cash remittance and optimizing delivery routes, can help businesses navigate operational challenges and improve efficiency in regions with specific infrastructural characteristics.
The collapse of the Soviet banking system birthed the modern Russian banking system through a series of rebellions and creation of new banks.
The Soviet economy transitioned from a market vacuum to a market economy due to cooperative entities and the birth of private commercial banks.
Formation of the Central Bank of Russia and rapid bank privatization led to a banking system with significant infrastructure challenges and financial instability.
Banking systems reveal societal values through their operations and setups.
Soviet banking system had a unique two-tiered currency system to manage money supply without hampering price control.
Soviet banking operated in a cathedral-style cybernetics, steering the economy by restricting possible states, which eventually led to the need for a transition to market-oriented banking in modern Russia.
The collapse of the Soviet ruble zone was like a heist more than a historical event, with countries exploiting the payment network to issue new rubles and ultimately leading to hyperinflation.
The failure of the Soviet ruble zone showed the importance of payment networks in shaping path dependencies, highlighting the need for robust state capacity and careful negotiation in managing currency transitions.
Countries like the Baltics and Ukraine left the Russian ruble zone early, showing the impact of geopolitical decisions on monetary systems.