COVID-19 Briefing
Consumer Protection and COVID-19: Borrower Risks as Economies Reopen
Lockdowns have put consumers in financial need and providers under stress, setting the stage for consumer protection challenges to emerge around the provision of credit. In this Briefing, we offer preliminary recommendations for policy makers, regulators, and FSPs on how to keep borrower financial needs front and center without putting excessive stress on FSPs.COVID-19 Briefing
Microfinance and COVID-19: Principles for Regulatory Response
As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, further policy steps have proven necessary, both within and beyond the financial sector, to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on businesses and ordinary people. This Briefing applies five guiding principle to country contexts, and specifically addresses what each principle means for regulatory responses to the COVID-19 crisis.Data
Microfinance & COVID-19: Examples of Regulatory Responses Affecting Microfinance Providers
This table provides country examples for regulatory responses identified in the Briefing Microfinance and COVID-19: Principles for Regulatory Response.COVID-19 Briefing
Debt Restructuring in Microfinance
The twin global crises of a health pandemic and economic lockdowns are severely harming the livelihoods of low-income people around the world. Microfinance providers and funders are returning to the negotiating table to respond to liquidity and, possibly, solvency issues facing distressed MFPs.COVID-19 Briefing
Social Assistance Payments in Response to COVID-19: The Role of Donors
Countries worldwide are using social assistance payments as a component of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This briefing addresses how donors and their partners can design and implement social assistance payments that are efficient and secure while providing recipients with reliable, convenient, and safe access to their payments.Publication
How to Build a Regulatory Sandbox: A Practical Guide for Policy Makers
When is a regulatory sandbox the best method for financial regulators to test innovative products and services? And how can they use a sandbox for advancing financial inclusion? CGAP’s new guide leads regulators step by step through the decision-making process.Publication
(Un)stacking Financial Market Infrastructure
Challenges around scaling effective financial infrastructures are not small, but when addressed effectively, a system can emerge that improves the value of financial services for poor people.Publication
Digital Cash Transfers in Times of COVID-19: Opportunities and Considerations for Women's Inclusion and Empowerment
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank Group, CGAP, and Women’s World Banking, has developed a joint white paper on gender intentional digital cash transfers in the time of COVID-19, offering guidance and considerations for policymakers to support women’s inclusion and empowerment.COVID-19 Briefing
Relief for Informal Workers: Falling through the Cracks in COVID-19
Informal workers are not recognized by social protection agencies and do not have the protections offered by formal sector employment, yet they make up a majority of the workforce. Many have lost income-generating opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic—and providing relief for these individuals is critical.COVID-19 Briefing