Searching: Blogs

3 Ways Financial Inclusion Improves Women’s Food Security

There is evidence that financial inclusion improves food security for women in at least three ways.

Digital Payments Matter More for Public Services: 3 Reasons Why

Water utilities and other public service providers can benefit in at least three ways from digital payments.

Digital Credit Helping to Put Kids in Classrooms in Cote d'Ivoire

By partnering with farmers’ cooperatives to offer an innovative digital credit product, Advans is seeing high repayment rates and having an impact on school attendance in rural Cote d'Ivoire.

Growth vs. Sustainability: Credit Risk in PAYGo Solar

Rapid customer growth in PAYGo solar can come with a cost: too many customers that don’t repay. To better understand the realities and challenges of running a PAYGo credit operation, we spoke with heads of credit and risk at PAYGo solar companies, equity investors and creditors.

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?

How Bangladesh Digitized Education Aid for 10 Million Families

In just months, Bangladesh digitized financial aid payments for education to millions of families. What can other countries learn from this rapid transition to digital payments?

A Digital Platform to Manage Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenses

The M-TIBA mobile health wallet combines savings, remittances and other digital financial services to help low-income customers cover health care expenses.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

2017 Global Findex: Behind the Numbers on Rural China

What does (and doesn't) the latest Findex tell us about China's urban-rural divide in financial inclusion?

Remote Lockouts: The Dark Side of Pay-as-You-Go Solar?

Lockout technology has enabled creditors to help poor people finance solar systems and light their homes, but it’s not very popular with consumers.

Measuring Women’s Financial Inclusion: The 2017 Findex Story

Despite global progress toward universal access to financial services, the gender gap remains at 9 percentage points in developing countries. Here's a look at what the 2017 Global Findex tells us about women's access to financial services.

New Global Findex: What You Need to Know

The latest Findex shows global progress on access to financial services, but it also illustrates challenges in reaching marginalized groups and increasing usage.

The Many Faces of Social Exclusion

FinScope consumer data shows how people experience social exclusion differently and points to groups that are especially excluded, including farmers, women and youth.

Women’s Financial Inclusion: What the Gallup World Poll Tells Us

Gallup data shows that 81 percent of women worldwide own a mobile phone. Yet regions with high ownership rates have some of the lowest rates of women's financial inclusion.