Amsterdam, June 20, 2018 A unique alliance of over 50 fintech investors and digital finance innovators launched the investor guidelines aimed at spreading the benefits of the fintech revolution more widely. Innovations in digital technology have created new and exciting opportunities to reach unbanked and underbanked low-income customers in emerging markets as well as developed countries. Traditionally, these customer segments have been considered too risky and too poor to be […]

Chris Skinner and Carlos Kuchovsky during the event at Torre Espacio, Madrid. By: Teresa Alameda, BBVA Fintech expert Chris Skinner shared the stage with Carlos Kuchkovsky, CTO New Digital Businesses at BBVA, at Desafío Ingenia, where they debated the arrival of technologies such as artificial intelligence, the importance of data and new entrants in the financial services market. Traditional banks have millions of customers, are worth billions and are hundreds of […]

Photo: Marie Hortense Raharimalala / IFC By: Paul Makin and Chrissy Martin, CGAP Biometric technologies are rapidly changing how financial services providers (FSPs) verify people’s identities and meet know-your-customer requirements as well as customer due diligence (CDD) requirements more broadly. India’s use of biometrics is perhaps the best-known example, but it is not the only one. According to an estimate by Juniper Research, over 600 million mobile devices around the world […]

Introduction Africa is at a turning point. It has been growing at a significant rate over the past years, but the economic growth has not transformed into the same level of financial inclusion. Economic growth has resulted in more opportunities for low income households, but with this comes a need for more affordable and accessible financial services. DFS providers have been playing a vital role in servicing the market segment […]

For most, socially responsible investing means just that – investing in a manner that not only generates financial returns but also produces positive social value. But what does it mean for an investor to be “responsible” when selling their holdings? How does one stay responsible at the very moment when one ceases to be an investor? This is a basic challenge facing investors seeking to “exit,” i.e. sell their equity […]

Introduction Digital Financial Services (DFS) hold the promise to accelerate and deepen financial inclusion – especially in markets where traditional banking has not yet reached large segments of the population. DFS providers have acquired millions of new customers. But many digital services ecosystems experience intermittent use among the customer base and are working to develop active ecosystems. Data analytics provide an opportunity to help address this activity problem to keep […]

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on 25 May and represents the biggest change to European data privacy and data protection laws in more than 20 years. This new framework aims to gives individuals more control over their personal data and simplify the regulatory environment, so they can more fully benefit from an inclusive and trustworthy digital economy. Contrary to what many people believe, this is not […]