Recent Blogs
Blog
Does Financial Inclusion Impact the Lives of the Poor?
A growing body of evidence is emerging on financial inclusion. The lack of a cohesive, nuanced story to bring the evidence together is leading to wildly different and overly simplistic interpretations.Blog
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.Blog
Could e-Commerce Bring Women’s Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh?
Closing the financial inclusion gender gap is about more than account access. It’s about making sure accounts unlock real opportunities for women. In Bangladesh, linking mobile money to informal e-commerce could meaningfully advance women’s financial inclusion.Blog
From Smartphones to Solar Panels: Are Asset Finance Advances Pro-Poor?
Can asset financing improve the lives of low-income customers? And if so, which assets and financing approaches hold the most promise?Blog
Should Funders Support Switches for Mobile Payment Interoperability?
Mobile payment switches aren’t the only path to interoperable financial systems – and they aren’t always the best path. Here are three questions funders should ask before they commit to building a switch.Blog
I-SIP Approach Helps Russia Shape Inclusive Financial Policy Making
Find out how Russia's central bank is using the I-SIP approach to promote financial inclusion.Blog
How the Philippines Applied I-SIP Approach to Basic Deposit Accounts
Learn how the Philippine Central Bank is advancing financial inclusion using a new CGAP toolkit for policy makers.Blog
A Growing Trend in Financial Regulation: Thematic Sandboxes
More regulators are experimenting with "thematic sandboxes" that are designed to advance a specific policy goal. Here are three types of thematic sandboxes we've seen emerge over the past year.Blog
Pictures from Africa Show How Digital Technology Transforms Lives
This year's winning photo powerfully conveys how digital technologies can bring new opportunities for women.Blog
Is Digital Banking Better Banking for the Bottom of the Pyramid?
Digital banks are emerging in many developing countries. Can they do a better job than traditional banks of providing low-income customers with useful financial services?Blog
Is Banking Becoming Modular? A Glimpse into the Future of Finance
There's a growing sense in developed markets that the next few years will see profound change in financial services. What are these changes? And what are the implications for financial inclusion?Blog
6 Data Protection Rights for Empowering People in the Digital World
The digital economy presents an opportunity to provide greater rights to individuals exactly when it matters.Blog
Great Expectations: Fintech and the Poor
Fintech has attracted off-the-charts hype in the development community. But lost in all the excitement is a cool-headed assessment of what these shiny new things are really delivering for poor people. Greta Bull, in the first in a series of CGAP leadership essays, takes stock.Blog
Building Open APIs for Digital Finance? Think Sprints, Not Marathon
Digital financial services provides are finding that traditional software development approaches are not ideal for opening APIs. Here’s a better approach.Blog
8 Lessons from Using a Messaging Platform to Support Digital Payments
Here are eight insights on how to use messaging platforms to increase financial literacy among smallholders.Blog
Let’s Free Up Cash Networks by Rethinking Agent Regulations
Regulations often give big financial institutions near total control over mobile money cash-in/cash-out networks. Changing the rules would enable small entrepreneurs to play a bigger role in building last-mile cash networks.Blog
It’s Time to Deregulate Agent Cash In/Cash Out
Agent regulations often treat agents like extensions of bank branches. But the reality is that many agents conduct a far more limited range of financial activities and should be regulated differently.Blog
3 Data Protection Approaches That Go Beyond Consent
Consent forms are the backbone of data protection efforts worldwide, but there’s a problem: no one reads them. To protect people’s data, policy makers must go beyond consent.Blog
What’s Financial Health Got to Do with It?
Financial health can be a useful concept for those working toward financial inclusion, but it also presents challenges.Blog