Blog

China's Super Platforms: The Impact Question

What impact are super platforms having on low-income customers and small businesses? CGAP and Mastercard Foundation traveled to China to see firsthand.

India Moves Toward Universal Financial Inclusion

The 2017 Findex shows India has made significant financial inclusion progress in the past four years, but use remains a challenge.

Building Rural Digital Ecosystems, One Small Payment at a Time

New research shows that digitizing everyday payments as person-to-person transfers can be a sustainable way for providers to reach customers in rural areas.

3 Myths About Data Localization

Data localization is often pursued as a way to make financial data safer and easier for the government to access, but it can have unintended consequences for financial inclusion.

What Can Traditional Giving Teach Digital Fundraising Platforms?

What can today’s digital fundraising platforms learn from long-held traditions of giving? We spoke with givers in Kenya to find out.

Customer Due Diligence and Data Protection: Striking a Balance

If financial services providers are going to work together to improve customer due diligence, more flexibility will be required to exchange customers’ information responsibly.

Financial Inclusion: Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full? (Pt 2)

The number of people with financial accounts has grown rapidly, but account dormancy remains a problem, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and India.

Off-Grid Solar Company Helping Customers Pay School Fees

In Africa, some of the most innovative ideas in education financing are coming from an unlikely source - an off-grid solar company.

Financial Inclusion: Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full? (Pt 1)

The rate of access to new accounts has slowed in recent years, but there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of financial inclusion.

6 Things You May Not Know About Biometrics

Biometrics are likely the future of identification and identity verification, but it's important to understand their strengths and limitations to ensure they advance financial inclusion.

2017 Global Findex: Behind the Numbers on Bangladesh

Bangladesh has made great strides toward financial inclusion, but many challenges remain -- including one of the largest gender gaps in the world.

Protecting Consumers Means Thinking Like Consumers

People often make unexpected, even counter-intuitive, financial decisions. Understanding why is the starting point for good financial consumer protection policy.

The Case for Off-Grid Solar Companies as Mobile Money Agents

Off-grid solar companies could boost revenue and reach more low-income customers by becoming master mobile money agents in remote areas.

Building Payment Rails in Frontier Areas Through Off-Grid Solar

Many off-grid solar companies are familiarizing customers with digital payments and helping them find mobile money agents. Should they go a step further and start managing agent networks?

Bringing Health Microinsurance to Kenyans via Mobile Phone

Bundling microinsurance with other mobile financial products is making health insurance more affordable and useful for low-income patients in Kenya.

Digital Payments That Resonate with Low-Income Farmers

A major Mozambican cotton producer found that local farmers thought bank accounts were only for wealthier people. It teamed up with an innovative bank to show that wasn’t true.

Proximity Matters: Improving the Viability of Frontier Agents

Easy access to agents makes people more likely to use digital financial services, but business as usual has left remote communities underserved. Here are some ways governments and providers are expanding agent networks in hard-to-serve areas.

In Côte d'Ivoire, Financial Inclusion at a Crossroads

Mobile money is driving overall progress in financial inclusion in Côte d’Ivoire, but it’s also highlighting a digital divide that could leave excluded segments behind if not dealt with through smart policy.

How Ghana Became One of Africa’s Top Mobile Money Markets

Mobile money account ownership tripled in Ghana from 2014 to 2017, making the country one of the fastest growing mobile money markets in Africa. How? Smart regulations played a key role.

Women’s Financial Inclusion: Are Funders Moving the Needle?

Many countries with significant funding for women’s financial inclusion are seeing a widening gender gap. What does this mean for funders?