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Financial Inclusion 2.0: Embracing a New Outcome Agenda

Financial inclusion has a key role to play as an enabler for development outcomes and as a foundational element to improve livelihoods and build resilience in an ever more vulnerable and turbulent world.

FATF's Proposed Rules for Payments: Balancing Integrity and Inclusion?

As the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) seeks feedback for its revised Recommendation 16, or "travel rule", it is imperative to consider potential impacts on the financial inclusion of low-income customers.

Financial Inclusion 2.0: Generating New Evidence to Maximize Impact

Despite extensive research, the financial inclusion sector still lacks a clear understanding of what works, when, and for whom. Financial services' impact varies widely, highlighting the need for new research and more nuanced insights.

Financially Including Young Women: Gains for a Generation

The final blog in our series with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spotlights what CGAP and BMGF have learned about the dynamics of young women’s financial exclusion, and new initiatives to tackle the gender gap at its source in young adulthood.

Good News for Young Women’s Financial Inclusion in East Africa

Young women in East Africa are demanding and using financial services earlier and faster than a decade ago, according to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation analysis of Findex 2021 and 2011 data. The second blog in our series unpacks these findings.

How Fostering Competition in LAC Can Revolutionize Financial Inclusion

Governments in LAC recognize the importance of advancing digital financial inclusion and fostering competition among financial service providers to improve choices and quality and lower costs for all consumers - including those living in poverty.

Success in Open Finance Requires Trust – Lessons from Brazil

Brazil's rapid expansion of open finance shows its potential to transform financial services, and recent CGAP research offers valuable insights into Brazil, as well as other markets interested in implementing open finance.

The Road Ahead for Platform Gig Workers’ Financial Inclusion

Gig platforms offer financial inclusion potential for their workers, but roadblocks remain. Learn how funders and the financial inclusion community can better support innovation and impact on gig platforms.

Findex 2021 Insights: Boosting Financial inclusion in Africa

Global Findex 2021 shows Sub-Saharan Africa has made progress in financial account ownership and usage over the past decade but lags behind in closing the financial inclusion gender gap and indicators around the value of financial services.

How Can We Build on COVID-19 Progress in Women’s Financial Inclusion

COVID-19 has led millions of women to open accounts, spurred investments in digital infrastructure, and built momentum around women’s financial inclusion. By taking the right steps, we can push women’s financial inclusion further than ever before.

Finding Opportunity in “Interesting Times”

What did 2020 teach us about financial inclusion? Greta Bull reflects on what was, for most people, an especially difficult year and offers her perspective on the year ahead.

Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize in 2020

What’s the path forward for financial inclusion in the decade ahead? Greta Bull shares the three guiding stars that CGAP is using to steer innovations toward the achievement of global development goals.

Beyond Regulations: What’s Driving Mobile Money in Côte d’Ivoire?

Regulations helped spur the recent growth of mobile money in Côte d'Ivoire, but there's more to the story.

Regulations Drive Success of Digital Finance in Côte d’Ivoire

The year 2015 marked a turning point for financial inclusion in Côte d'Ivoire, as nonbanks were allowed to issue e-money. Since then, mobile money has driven big increases in account ownership.

Pakistan Enigma: Why Is Financial Inclusion Happening So Slowly?

Just 21 percent of adults have accounts in Pakistan, despite decades of support for financial inclusion. What could accelerate progress?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.