All Publications
Publication
Building Value in Microfinance Through Digitization: Lessons from Loan Automation Pilots
Digitization has brought both hope and frustration to the microfinance industry. To address this, we identified and tested five core principles for successful implementation. This focus note summarizes our experience, evaluates the validity of the five principles, and offers key lessons learned for other industry stakeholders to adopt and scale a similar approach.Publication
Building Value in Microfinance Through Digitization: A Role for Funders
This note highlights the importance of funders in supporting the digital transformation of microfinance institutions (MFIs). The focus is on business intelligence and credit renewal automation to increase the success rate of MFI digitization. Funders play a crucial role in ensuring that MFIs continue to serve the most excluded and underserved customers in the future.Publication
Women Agents for Financial Inclusion: Exploring the Benefits, Constraints, and Potential Solutions
This working paper explores the benefits of having more women agents, the challenges they face, and potential solutions to promote their participation. It highlights that engaging women agents does not compromise performance and offers collaborative solutions for stakeholders to remove barriers and unlock the full potential of women in the DFS ecosystem.Publication
A Technical Guide to Unlock Agent Networks at the Last Mile
This guide outlines five key actions for DFS providers, regulators, and funders to expand rural CICO agent networks based on CGAP's global experience. These actions include building a vision for rural expansion, optimizing investment strategies for rural agents, and capturing the potential of women agents.Publication
The Setup: Partnerships and Conditions for Offering Financial Services to Gig Workers
Platforms can offer financial services to underserved gig workers through digital channels, but it's essential to have the right environment for payments, regulations, and analysis. In this brief, early lessons share how institutional partnerships can lead to successful market entry.Publication
Putting Gig Data to Work: Innovations in Expanding Credit Access
Learn how industry pioneers such as Moove and Karmalife have developed algorithms and products to use work and earnings data to extend credit to gig workers in this new brief.Publication
Financial Services for Gig Workers: Lessons on Getting Design and Delivery Right
This brief highlights four examples of successful design and delivery methods employed by industry leaders in providing financial services to gig workers.Publication
Instant Payments and Merchants — Pricing Policy Considerations
This technical note helps explain why changes in instant payment pricing are occurring, assesses their impact on market development, and offers suggestions for the path forward.Publication
Starting the Transaction: Payment Initiation and Customer Experience
This technical note is framed to help policymakers and payment system operators understand recent trends in payment initiation and customer experience in making interoperable payments work better for low-income populations.Reading Deck