Recent Blogs
Blog
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.Blog
Building Payment Rails in Frontier Areas Through Off-Grid Solar
Many off-grid solar companies are familiarizing customers with digital payments and helping them find mobile money agents. Should they go a step further and start managing agent networks?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.Blog
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.Blog
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.Blog
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.Blog
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.Blog
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?Blog
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.Blog
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.Blog
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?Blog
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.Blog
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?Blog
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.Blog
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.Blog
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.Blog
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.Blog
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.Blog
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?Blog