VOA慢速英語:聯(lián)合國(guó)為非洲的窮人帶來了金融服務(wù)

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From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is! I’mSteve Ember in Washington.

Officials in Japan have been studying ways to set rulesfor the digital currency known as Bitcoin. Theinvestigation came after a leading Tokyo-based tradinghouse closed suddenly. Today on the program, we tellhow Bitcoin is growing in popularity, but also creatingconcerns. But first, we turn to international efforts tohelp poor people in Africa. Three United Nationsagencies want the poor to become less dependent onaid. But critics are wondering if the UN efforts arehaving any success. Mario Ritter has more.

UN Agencies Attempt to Help Africa’s Poor

The agencies want financial services such as credit, savings and insurance to be made available to everyone. That includes poor people in Africa’s ruralareas who may live on only two dollars a day.

The agencies believe that if these services reached the rural poor, their livescould improve greatly.

Ertharin Cousin works for the World Food Program, one of the UN agenciesinvolved in the effort. She says the World Food Program’s goal is to createopportunity in agricultural production that continues after aid efforts end.

The other agencies are the Food and Agriculture Organization and theInternational Fund for Agricultural Development. Representatives of theagencies were recently in Ethiopia, a densely populated country of more than84 million people. But, more than 80 percent of the population lives in ruralareas.

The FAO gave seeds and fertilizer to farmers. Local groups then buy whatthe farmers have grown with money that comes indirectly from theInternational Fund for Agricultural Development. And the World Food Programgives schools support so they can buy locally-grown food to serve theirstudents.

Organizers hope the programs will help people live without aid. They sayfarmers and local groups called cooperatives want the program to succeed,so they are working together.

Another part of the program teaches people how to manage their money. Theagencies teach those living on a few dollars a day to use part of that moneynot for daily costs but to save or invest.

Queen Maxima is the UN’s Special Advocate for Financial Inclusion. She saysknowing how to manage and save money is important if people want tosupport themselves.

“Eventually, it should come from savings. Eventually, you should unleashdomestic savings because of the domestic resources that should be put backinto productive loans so that people can actually make the investment, growthe production, increase employment, et cetera, et cetera.”

Ethiopia does not have a strong financial services industry. Only eight percentof the population saves money in a bank. While mobile banking has helpedthe rural poor in other African countries, Ethiopia has only recently permittedmobile banking.

I’m Mario Ritter.

And I’m Steve Ember. You are listening to As It Is, from VOA LearningEnglish.

Bitcoin Faces Increased Scrutiny

An ever-growing number of people are using Bitcoin to buy goods, pay forservices or send money anywhere in the world. They do not have to usetraditional banks, credit cards or other financial services when they use theelectronic currency. Our economics reporter, Mario Ritter, has more.

Bitcoin is electronically protected, or encrypted. It is bought, sold andtransferred like other currencies through trading companies. Transfershappen without governments being involved or regulating the currency.

Jerry Brito is a technology policy analyst at George Mason University. He saysBitcoin is the world’s first true digital currency that is not controlled by anyone.

“Bitcoin basically solved a computer science problemthat, for the first time, allows just two people to transactonline, so it’s decentralized. There is no Bitcoincompany, there is no government -- it’s kind of likeemail.”

Bitcoin

However, the very things that people like about Bitcoinare also what criminals like about it. They want tomove money from place to place secretly, withoutgovernments knowing about it. Law enforcementagencies in the United States recently closed an online market that usedBitcoin.

Marco Santori is the chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation’s Regulatory AffairsCommittee. He notes that all Bitcoin transactions can be seen by all othercomputers. And he says the belief that no one regulates the currency is nottrue.

“Bitcoin is in fact heavily regulated. It is very heavily regulated. Those whoexchange Bitcoins for other digital currencies or who exchange Bitcoins fordollars are money transmitters under the Bank Secrecy Act.”

The amount of Bitcoin in the system must always be counted and tracked. Users’ computers that watch and approve Bitcoin sales and purchases aregiven new Bitcoins. Mr. Brito says this is how more money is added to thesystem.

“Every ten minutes there are about 25.5 Bitcoins introduced into the economyand it is given to one of the miners, kind of at random as it were, who arecontributing in a competing capacity.”

The United States, Germany, and many other governments accept the use ofBitcoins. But some officials have called for stronger regulations on theelectronic currency. China recently banned its banks, but not businesses, from trading in Bitcoin.

Since its beginning in 2009, the value of a Bitcoin has increased from just afew pennies to hundreds of American dollars.

And that’s our program for today. Be sure to join us at this same timetomorrow for another As It Is from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember. Thanks for listening!