Cash-in and cash-out (CICO) agent use cases: Opportunities for diversification

• by Surbhi Sood, Nikhita Jindal, Mandira Sharma, Raunak Kapoor and Anik Muntasir Chowdhury
• Aug 2, 2023
• 1 min
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CICO agents in developing countries, including India, Kenya, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, face a slew of sustainability challenges. These include competition, low margins, reduced commissions, and user-initiated DFS transactions. MSC proposes a dynamic use case mix for agent sustainability that uses a seven-factor analysis to curate diverse and dynamic use cases.

In developing countries, such as India, Kenya, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, cash-in and cash-out (CICO) agents encounter sustainability challenges. These challenges arise from stiff competition, reduced commissions, and low margins from user-initiated digital financial service (DFS) transactions. MSC recommends several solutions to foster agent sustainability. These include evaluation of agent willingness, mobility, technical and soft skills, digital savviness, financial sustainability, ability to identify potential customers, and ecosystem support during the selection of use cases. The implementation of these use cases will help providers drive the financial sustainability of agents and, consequently, promote financial inclusion among low- and middle-income customers.