Blog

Bringing Health Microinsurance to Kenyans via Mobile Phone

Bundling microinsurance with other mobile financial products is making health insurance more affordable and useful for low-income patients in Kenya.

Digital Payments That Resonate with Low-Income Farmers

A major Mozambican cotton producer found that local farmers thought bank accounts were only for wealthier people. It teamed up with an innovative bank to show that wasn’t true.

Proximity Matters: Improving the Viability of Frontier Agents

Easy access to agents makes people more likely to use digital financial services, but business as usual has left remote communities underserved. Here are some ways governments and providers are expanding agent networks in hard-to-serve 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.

How Ghana Became One of Africa’s Top Mobile Money Markets

Mobile money account ownership tripled in Ghana from 2014 to 2017, making the country one of the fastest growing mobile money markets in Africa. How? Smart regulations played a key role.

Women’s Financial Inclusion: Are Funders Moving the Needle?

Many countries with significant funding for women’s financial inclusion are seeing a widening gender gap. What does this mean for funders?

Bank-Led Digital Finance: Who’s Really Leading?

In countries where regulators favor “bank-led” digital finance models, nonbanks are playing important – even dominant – roles in digital finance.

The Biometric Balancing Act in Digital Finance

Biometric technologies are facilitating the rise of collaborative customer due diligence. It is crucial to understand all aspects of biometric solutions – security, cost, convenience, inclusiveness and accuracy – and how prioritizing one may come with trade-offs to others.

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?

Empowering Kids to Dream, Save, Do

When should children start learning about financial empowerment? The early years are the best, according to Sesame Workshop India. Find out how Sesame has taught 50 million children in India about spending, saving and other life skills.

Blockchain: A Solution in Search of a Problem?

Blockchain may be capable of expanding poor people's access to financial services, but does it work better than other existing technologies?

Open APIs in Digital Finance: How to Start Engaging Developers

To entice third-party app developers to innovate with APIs, digital financial services providers should start thinking of developers as customers and provide the right kinds of resources.

What Can We Learn from Sierra Leone’s New Regulatory Sandbox?

Sierra Leone's approach to setting up a regulatory sandbox for financial inclusion holds important lessons for other countries.

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.

East African Interoperability: Dispatches from the Home of M-Pesa

Kenyans can now send money between the country's two largest digital wallet services, Airtel and M-Pesa, the latest step toward interoperability in East Africa.

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.

Is Funding for Rural Finance Going Where It’s Needed Most?

Global funding for rural finance has risen to nearly $5 billion. Are funds reaching communities with the greatest needs?

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.

Public Clearinghouse Could Shake Up China’s Mobile Payment Market

China will soon require payments providers, including Alipay and WeChat Pay, to connect to a public online payments clearinghouse. Here’s what we know so far about how this institution will work and what it could mean for mobile payments.

Smartphones Are Common in Myanmar: Is Digital Finance Far Behind?

Smartphone penetration of 80 percent and low bank account access suggest that digital financial services will take off in Myanmar. China’s experience may offer clues about how and when this will happen.