Financial inclusion

USAID: The Gender Digital Divide Working toward a global digital ecosystem for all

Analyzing the Gender Digital Divide with country examples/data from India, Senegal & Indonesia

Queen Maxima gives speech about financial equality for International Women’s Day

VoxDev Lit: Mobile Money (literature review) Toolkit

Analyzing impacts and potential of mobile money on (women’s) economic empowerment, financial inclusion and poverty reduction.

COVID-19 Exclusion Working Group (Gender) – Introduction and Strategic Enablers for Digital Payments Toolkit

COVID-19 is causing unprecedented health, economic and social crises and threatens the poverty and inclusion gains that have been made over the last decade.

Responsible Practices to Address Seven Major Risks in COVID-19 Digital Financial Transfers Toolkit

The Report Responsible Practices to Address Seven Major Risks in COVID-19 Digital Financial Transfers identifies seven heightened risks resulting from the speed and scale of COVID-19 digital transfer responses.

BETTER THAN CASH: Ruth Goodwin-Groen is inspiring social change with digital financial inclusion

Policy and regulatory recommendations to facilitate mobile humanitarian and social assistance during COVID-19

This guidance note outlines the most significant challenges that MNOs face (or likely to face) in the context of supporting the delivery of humanitarian assistance in a COVID-19 world and offers relevant recommendations to governments on how to help address or mitigate these challenges.

Inclusive Growth: The Global Challenges of Social Inequality and Financial Inclusion

The book outlines a journey from enabling models of government and business to strategies for creating both financial and social inclusion and entrepreneurism as mechanisms for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Improving Financial Inclusion through the Delivery of Cash Transfer Programmes: The Case of Mexico's Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera Programme

This paper follows a quasi-experimental research design to assess the impact of the electronic payment system of Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera (POP) programme.

New insights into inclusion-focused fintech 

The recently launched Inclusive Fintech 50 whitepaper looks at how early-stage fintechs are working on financial inclusion. Findings reveal that “funding is concentrated in several notable ways, innovation is not limited to technology and common standards are needed to bring clarity to the field.”

Early Lessons on Regulatory Innovation to Enable Inclusive FinTech

Read the University of Cambridge and UNSGSA report on how regulators are innovating to better respond to financial innovation….

Role of digital finance in an aging world

A new Better Than Cash Alliance and World Bank paper outlines factors for the financial exclusion of the elderly and explores how digital financial technology can help governments better prepare for global aging challenges.

How to create a digital ID for inclusive development

This USAID guide aims to: 1) illustrate how investments in ID systems impact individuals and their households; and 2) provide specific how-to guidance to help donors, program managers, and M&E specialists get started in thinking about ID ecosystems.

Designing "smart" to overcome gender bias 

Women face additional constraints because of their gender that affect their economic performance. New Oxford University Press paper suggests that specific design features - repeated micro-lending, variation in loan terms, private savings accounts, etc - in financial services can yield more positive economic outcomes for women. 

The Role of Digital Financial Inclusion in Preparing for Older Age and Retirements

This paper, jointly released by the Better Than Cash Alliance and the World Bank, summarizes and analyzes the financial challenges faced by older adults.

The age of digital interdependence

The UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation released this report. It highlights the need for inclusivity and protection of human rights to ensure a safe digital future for all and shares 5 key recommendations.  

Consumer protection standards for digital credit 

Similar to the RDPGs, this Smart Campaign publication identifies standards for responsible digital financial services, especially credit. It aims to guide the practices of both fintechs and traditional financial service providers undergoing digital transformation. 

Distributed Ledger Technology: What Is It and Why Do We Care?

Blockchain Series: Blog 1…

Distributed Ledgers: Looking Past the Hype

Blockchain Series: Blog 2…