The global health sector is beginning to experiment and see some success with the use of digital financial services. With the cost savings from more efficient payment mechanisms, for example, health providers can sustainably reach more people with…
In early 2014, CGAP published a brief, "Bitcoin versus Electronic Money," which concluded: “The current realities of Bitcoin mean it is still a long way off from reaching the unbanked.” It seemed that digital currencies such as Bitcoin were…
A growing number of countries are witnessing fast-paced advances in digital financial inclusion, including the emergence of innovative "deposit-like" stored-value products such as mobile money and pre-paid debit cards. This blog series raises…
Data generated by low-income consumers’ use of mobile phones and digital financial services can help expand financial inclusion, but its use can also result in the loss of privacy and other harm. These benefits and risks will be explored in this…
The series aims to explore the landscape of supply and demand-side data gathering efforts with the related goals of (i) identifying gaps in the data architecture; (ii) moving toward consensus – where it makes sense – on the correct indicators and…
In this blog series, we examine where and how a customer-centricity lens can spur new ideas and solutions that unblock the financial inclusion gateway in digital payment systems for the poor and vulnerable around the world.
After extensive external and internal consultations, the CGAP Board (ExCom) approved the next five-year strategic direction for CGAP at its annual meeting in Amsterdam. The strategic direction lays out five priority themes, desired outcomes, and…
This blog series on financial capability features guest posts that explore themes such as why financial capability matters, incentivizing new approaches to financial capability and building the evidence base for financial capability. The…
Despite leading global bodies recognizing that financial exclusion can undermine efforts to fight money laundering and terrorism financing, the high cost of complying with their requirements paradoxically makes it harder for financial services…
A new series in preparation for the XIV Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise (Foromic) in Costa Rica from 10-12 October. CGAP and the MIF are joining forces to argue about the key challenges in microfinance and distill the game-changing…
This is a special series that will help us reflect on the broader aid effectiveness initiatives, CGAP’s own work on effectiveness, and what this all means for access to finance today.
This blog series is an accompaniment to the CGAP and UNSGSA paper “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: the Role of Financial Inclusion.” The series is meant to deepen and broaden the discussion started in the paper on how financial…
The Global Findex is the world's most comprehensive data set on financial inclusion. Launched with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and published every three years, it consists of nationally representative surveys of roughly 150,…
This blog series shares insights on crosscutting topics addressed in "Global Standard-Setting Bodies and Financial Inclusion: The Evolving Landscape," the new 2016 White Paper published by the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI),…
What is the current landscape of financial inclusion funding, and what can we learn from the global trends? This blog series explores the data from the 2015 CGAP Funders Survey, completed in partnership with MIX.
The 2014 Global Findex measured great progress toward financial inclusion globally. The number of people worldwide having an account grew by 700 million between 2011 and 2014. In 2011, 2.5 billion adults were unbanked. In 2014, 2 billion adults…
Pioneered by BRAC in Bangladesh, the Graduation Approach aims to move people out of extreme poverty and into sustainable livelihoods. It has been characterized from the outset by its emphasis on innovation, rigorous evaluation and knowledge exchange…
