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Making Disclosure Work for Low-Income Financial Consumers

Consumer research supported by CGAP and others around the world is painting a similar picture – customers face many challenges in understanding the prices, terms and conditions of the financial services they use, and this lack of understanding carries very real economic consequences.

Bank-led or Mobile-led Financial Inclusion?

Payments are an optimal gateway product for financially underserved households. Unlike credit, insurance, and savings, payments do not require trust by either party.

Branchless Banking and Financial Inclusion for G2P Recipients

The link between financial inclusion and G2P payments must take into account the interests and needs of three main constituencies.

Do Poor People Use Branchless Banking Services?

Statistics such as the 1.7 billion unbanked people with mobile phones have led to a great deal of interest in the potential of handheld technology, especially phones, to provide new channels with which low-income people can access financial services.

Head of Brazil’s Central Bank Financial Inclusion Team Speaks to CGAP

We recently spoke with Elvira Cruvinel, head of a new Brazilian Central Bank team coordinating financial inclusion efforts. Only a handful of countries globally have created such financial inclusion teams at central banks. Elvira is part of this small pioneering group of leaders looking to effect major changes to the financial access landscape. 1. What is the Brazilian Central Bank’s vision of financial inclusion?

Balancing Financial Inclusion and Stability

Regulators have traditionally focused their efforts on ensuring stable and sound financial systems, and this role has been amplified in developed countries since the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009.

MicroSave Releases New Assessment of Branchless Banking in India

India is undergoing a significant expansion in the use of agents (Business Correspondents) to offer a range of financial services. There are many questions about whether this present expansion can be sustained.

Can Self-Regulation Work to Protect Clients?

But what does this movement towards codes of conduct amongst microfinance associations mean from the policy perspective? Policymakers (and the rest of us) cannot count on the microfinance industry to handle client protection all on its own.

Branchless Banking Interoperability and Agent Exclusivity

This is the third post in our series on interoperability and related issues in branchless banking and mobile money. Read the first post that presented the overall framework for the discussion and the second post that looked at the interconnection of mobile money platforms. Today, we discuss interoperability at the agent level as it relates to agent exclusivity. We include agent exclusivity in the topic of interoperability because it raises many of the same issues as platform interoperability.

Platform-level Interconnection in Branchless Banking

Platform-level interconnection is what most people have in mind when they think of interoperability in branchless banking. When we speak of interoperable platforms, we are referring to platforms that permit the transfer of funds from one mobile account to the mobile account of another service provider.

Interoperability in Branchless Banking and Mobile Money

At the end of the day, we suspect interoperable systems will accelerate financial inclusion by allowing customers to use the infrastructure of multiple service providers to access their accounts. The question is how best do we get there?

Time to Choose

We need to focus on the real underlying issue and thinking that it is commercialization that is the problem.

Consumer Insights into Disclosure

Disclosure and pricing transparency are important building blocks for countries looking to develop effective consumer protection regimes. They also are of particular importance for low-income populations, who often have lower levels of literacy and numeracy, and limited experience with formal financial products.

The Regulatory Framework for Microfinance in MENA, 2011

In order to meet the challenges, a well developed regulatory framework as well as a strong support structure for the MFIs in the region is core. Sound regulations will enable the sector to grow in a sustainable way.

Financial Safety: In the Eyes of the User and Regulator

The perception that a financial institution is “safe” is perhaps not only a matter of whether it is regulated or solvent, but also whether it offers consumers a consistent, reliable experience.

MFIs Should Do Responsible Finance

Responsible finance is not just the responsibility of the MFIs. Other stakeholders have a role to play. These stakeholders should exhibit the same virtues that they demand of MFIs.

Consumer Protection? Ask the Consumer

The main objective of the diagnostic study undertaken in Senegal in early 2011 was to develop a better understanding of microfinance clients’ protection and suggest possible improvements.

Making Finance More Responsible

If you ask social investors whether responsible finance should be the “new normal” in microfinance, the answer is always yes.

Client Protection: Are We There Yet?

Since its launch, the Smart Campaign has made enormous strides toward ensuring that clients of microfinance would receive transparent, respectful, and prudent treatment.

What Does Research Tell Us about Consumer Protection?

Recent behavioral research on financial decision-making has demonstrated how we often rely on imperfect information and limited options to decide things like which bank has the best terms, whether we should save now and buy later, or maybe turn that extra cash into an investment.