In early 2012, I met the officials of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) in their New York offices to discuss a cashless economy concept. They had been fascinated by the impact of M-Pesa in Kenya.
In the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September that year, Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) was launched. By the launch date, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citigroup, the Ford Foundation, the Omidyar Network, and Visa Inc had already become the founding members.
