Sustainable development goals

Microfinance and Poverty Reduction: Is Social Protection the Missing Link?

The paper highlights that existing literature largely overlooks recent developments in the arena of social protection that are impacting financial needs of the poor and discusses some empirical findings from three Indian states.

Governance of Social Protection for Informal Sector Workers in Asia

This report covers overview and constraints of setting up a social protection system for informal workers in Asia. It also includes interesting case studies of some Asian countries including Bangladesh, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

In Bangladesh, key public and private sector actors commit to scaling digital wages across garment sector

Dhaka, November 20, 2019 - Media release by Government of Bangladesh: Building on what has been achieved so far, the government and the private sector have committed to working together to…

Bangladesh Digital Wages Summit

Scaling Digital Wages: An Opportunity for Garment Employees and Manufacturers…

Digital Wages in Bangladesh Benefit Women

Why Women Workers and Managers Prefer Electronic Wage Payments in Bangladesh

Payday can be an ordeal for women garment workers in Bangladesh. Often, they must wait in long lines, carry wads of cash through crowded streets, or encounter a mother-in-law demanding money…

Call to action: Digitizing workers’ payments in the garment sector in Bangladesh

Leading brands call on other companies and suppliers in Bangladesh to grasp the opportunity to drive inclusion, efficiency, and transparency through wage digitization…

Social Networks, e-Commerce Platforms, and the Growth of Digital Payment Ecosystems in China: What it Means for Other Countries

This report examines two of China’s most far-reaching applications – WeChat and Alipay – and explores their role in the development of one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated digital payments ecosystems.

Leveraging Public-Private Partnership in the Philipines for Digital Financial Inclusion

His Excellency Jose L. Cuisia Jr., Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States of America, and Mr. Paolo Eugenio Baltao, President, G-Xchange (a subsidiary of Globe Te…

Increasing factory worker well-being through digital payroll

Leading apparel companies have collaborated with each other on the BSR Herfinance program to improve worker well-being through payroll digitization.

The Future of Supply Chains: Why Companies are Digitizing Payments

New report underscores benefits of shifting from cash to digital payments in corporate supply chains.

Investing In Girls: Opportunities for Innovation in Girl-Centered Cash Transfers

This paper suggests policymakers and other stakeholders should leverage trends toward financially-inclusive e-payments as a means to achieve multiple potential objectives for bringing financial inlcusion to adolescent girls.

Innovations in family planning: Case studies from India

This book features case studies from India demonstrating approaches of problem solving, enhancing quality family planning care at the grass-roots level and facilitates advocacy, strengthening programme design and enhancing competency as well as orienting the healthcare system.

New Technologies in Cash Transfer Programming and Humanitarian Assistance

The research examines the constraints to the uptake of these technologies in humanitarian programming, and has identified barriers to wider adoption of new technology that can be broadly gr…

Bringing E-money to the Poor: Successes and Failures

This report examines the successful lessons from Kenya, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Thailand case studies of “gazelles", that leapt from limitation to innovation by successfully enabling the deployment of e-money technology.

Finclusion to Fintech: Fintech Product Development for Low-Income Markets

The paper presents detailed insights from 15 years of financial inclusion research to highlight the importance of fintech, including proposing product development ideas for Fintech players, to better serve developing world market.

Bridging the Digital Divide and Supporting Increased Digital Trade: Scoping Study

The global economy is experiencing important technological shifts, with the rise of digital technology a key driver. This can be seen today in the rapid growth of the digital economy, broadl…

Beneficiary Perceptions and Attitudes in Fiji: Facilitating Migration from Paper-based to Electronic Benefit Distribution

This study exams the real and perceived constraints social welfare beneficiaries and low income households face in using formal banking services. The study was done to inform the government…

Increasing partner loyalty through digital payments

The National Dairy Development Board digitized its payments to dairy farmers – unlocking significant business and social benefits.

Pakistan Plans to Bring Millions More Citizens into the Economy by Digitizing Payments

Government of Pakistan joins the United Nations’ Better Than Cash Alliance to create inclusive economic growth and a more efficient market structure…