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In 2002, Hewlett Packard formed a partnership with a number of microfinance networks (MFIs) and commercial partners working in related areas to explore how technology could be used effectively to help scale microfinance.

What emerged from the effort was a combination of technology and business processes, the Remote Transaction System (RTS), that supports both group and individual lending, online and batch offline processing, and back office synchronisation. The RTS eliminates the need to prepare, transport, and enter hand-written reports, reducing costs for rural operations. In addition, electronic collection of data raises client confidence in MFIs, as well as reducing fraud.

With this prototype technology, HP and its partners implemented a pilot of the system in Uganda in partnership with three MFIs active in the country. The three MFIs were the Uganda Microfinance Union (UMU), a cooperating partner of ACCION; the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), and the Foundation for Credit Community Assistance (FOCCAS), a collaborating partner of Freedom from Hunger.