ACCELERATING THE SDGs | HOW DIGITAL FINANCE CAN IGNITE FASTER PROGRESS TOWARD THE GLOBAL GOALS

Ruth Goodwin-Groen
15 Oct 2018

By Ruth Goodwin-Groen, Managing Director, BTCA As world leaders met at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, many discussions focused on how to ignite greater progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Increasingly, digital financial inclusion is emerging as a key answer. Today, two in three adults worldwide, more than ever before, have access to mobile money, formal accounts, electronic payments and fintech apps, making it easier to reach those who had […]

GEO-VISUALIZING MARKET DATA TO ROLL-OUT AGENCY BANKING NETWORK

Shafique Jamal
10 Oct 2018

By Shafique Jamal, IFC-Mastercard Foundation Partnership for Financial Inclusion Introduction In Ghana, Digital Financial Services (DFS) providers are increasing financial inclusion. The Partnership for Financial Inclusion is working with one bank, for example, to expanding its presence geographically, to better reach the unbanked and under-banked. To this end, carefully planning where to recruit and place agents in various parts of the country.  The bank is specifically targeting areas with low […]

HOW CAN GENDER LENSED DATA ANALYTICS BE USED TO CLOSE THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION GAP?

Richard Chamboko
31 Aug 2018

By Richard Chamboko, IFC-Mastercard Foundation Partnership for Financial Inclusion, for the Responsible Finance Forum Blog August 2018  Increasingly, evidence is showing that the use for Digital Financial Services (DFS) especially among women is bearing massive benefits. A recent study conducted in Kenya demonstrated that access to mobile money services helped women-headed households to reduce extreme poverty and provided opportunities to change livelihoods from farming to other retails services (Suri and […]

JUNTOS: ENGAGING DFS CUSTOMERS THROUGH PERSONALIZED TARGETING AND SEGMENTING THE MOST PROMISING CLIENT BASE

Oleksiy Anokhin, based on original case authored by Minakshi Ramji
30 Jul 2018

by Oleksiy Anokhin, based on original case authored by Minakshi Ramji Smartphone users are overwhelmed with access to information through multiple channels – websites, social media, and messages. As a result, people can become inured to numerous everyday messages, which they may perceive as spam. How can a provider approach their customers using these digital channels without irritating them? The case of Juntos, a Silicon Valley technology company that partnered […]

LENDDO: EXPANDING FINANCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH MINING SOCIAL MEDIA DATA

Oleksiy Anokhin
28 Jun 2018

by Oleksiy Anokhin, adapted from a case study by Dean Caire Introduction Digital Financial Services provide an enormous opportunity to deliver formal financial services to underserved individuals.  Large obstacles remain toward meeting this goal, such as customers who lack identification cards; or, for example, on the national level, inadequate credit bureaus.   These types of barriers push users to seek financial services from the informal sector, which can carry higher risks and […]

DOES GREATER INCLUSION LEAD TO FINANCIAL HEALTH? NEW RESEARCH RAISES POINTED QUESTIONS FOR THE INDUSTRY

Sonja Kelly and Evelyn Stark
22 Jun 2018

by Sonja Kelly, CFI, and Evelyn Stark, MetLife Foundation What conditions create physical health? We know more now than we ever have—working out, eating lots of vegetables and limiting alcohol intake seem to be healthy decisions. But there is no one agreed-upon set of conditions for physical health and wellness. Rather, there is a body of literature that provides clues about different aspects of health. For instance, nutrition literature makes […]

USING FINDEX WISELY: UNDERSTANDING THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST FINANCIAL INCLUSION DATASET

Daniel Rozas
22 Jun 2018

by Daniel Rozas The publication of the 2017 Global Findex has generated much reflection on the state of financial inclusion – and plenty of analysis of the data, looking for the buried treasure of some new trend or pattern. This yields important insights. The Financial Inclusion Hype vs. Reality report by the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) is particularly worth reading for its in-depth and honest reflection of what Findex tells us. But when […]

GLOBAL INVESTORS JOIN EFFORTS TO ACCELERATE INVESTMENTS IN RESPONSIBLE DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES

20 Jun 2018

June 20, 2018, Amsterdam: over 50 global investors and digital finance innovators launched Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services. The co-founding Signatories are working to collaborate for solutions, refine investment tools or innovate with strategic partners.  All potential, new and current Signatories are encouraged to proactively engage, such as at the 9th Annual Responsible Finance Forum on Oct 2, 2018 in Dar es Salaam. Why this matters now Innovations in digital technology have created new and exciting opportunities to reach unbanked and underbanked low-income customers […]

DATA, AI AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION: THE FUTURE OF GLOBAL BANKING

Teresa Alameda
18 Jun 2018

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 […]

Bank-Led Digital Finance: Who’s Really Leading?

Stefan Staschen
18 Jun 2018

Photo: Moksumul Haque, 2016 CGAP Photo Contest In 2006, CGAP distinguished two broad models of digital financial services (DFS) — one led by banks, the other by nonbanks. We quickly realized, however, that many of the so-called bank-led models were not actually led by banks. Rather, nonbanks were taking the lead in establishing and implementing DFS, even though banks remained the legal providers of these services. We therefore began to refer to […]