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Improving Recourse Systems in Digital Financial Services

Effective complaints handling, or recourse, reassures users of new financial services that problems can be resolved and that their money is protected. A new CGAP brief highlights the keys to improving recourse systems in digital financial services.

Catalyzing Women’s Financial Inclusion: The Role of Data

For governments, the collection of sex-disaggregated data begins
 a virtuous cycle, where its availability informs stronger, evidence-based policymaking and helps regulators evaluate the effectiveness of policies intended to promote financial inclusion.

What Information Do Customers Need to Make Informed Decisions?

We know more today than every before about how customers use financial services. But we still don’t know enough about what information customers access about products they are considering, and how this informs their financial decisions.

Policy into Practice: Zambia Advances Women’s Financial Inclusion

What can stakeholders do to facilitate women’s access to finance? How can they ensure that women can participate in the economy without facing constraints and barriers limiting their success?

Towards a More Enabling Legal Framework for Microfinance in Iraq

Four Iraqi MFIs, representing 15% of the market closed their doors in recent years due to conflict in the country. This left 20,000 clients with few other options, as Iraq's financial system remains underdeveloped.

Putting Mystery Shopping to the Test in the Philippines

Typically, mystery shopping is associated with consumer market research. However, financial regulators - such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas - are also using it as a tool to check if financial institutions are complying with regulations.

Mystery Shopping: A Different Way to “Listen to the Customer”

Mystery shopping is another way of "listening to the customer" and understanding what their experience at a financial institution is really like.

DFS Risk: “When It Works, It’s Great; When It’s Bad, It’s Awful"

Many innovators in digital finance fail to grasp the potential negative implications or risks associated with customers using advanced technologies.

False Neutrality: Ensuring Policies and Regulations Benefit Women

It's possible that financial regulations can be crafted in ways to increase and improve the quality of financial inclusion for women.

How Will You Do Digital Finance Right?

There is evidence of a clear tension between the advantages of digital financial services and the risks to customers. This issue will be addressed at the Responsible Finance Forum in Antalya, Turkey, September 7-9, 2015.

Fixing the Hidden Charges in Lipa na M-Pesa

Kenyan regulators took action to disclose Lipa na M-Pesa’s pricing structure. The move highlights a growing problem as digital financial services expand: Existing financial consumer protection rules are not being enforced consistently on these delivery channels.

What Can Donors Do to Ensure Responsible Digital Finance?

For digital finance to be a transformative tool, consumers must have greater confidence in the markets and in providers that deliver those services, writes USAID's Matt Homer.

Progress and Opportunities for Financial Inclusion in Turkey

This blog looks at the current state of financial inclusion in Turkey, which holds the G20 presidency and has declared financial inclusion one of its priorities.

Supervisor’s Experience with Expanding Agent Networks: 4 Insights

As agent networks expand, they bring great opportunity by facilitating cutting edge digital financial products. But with this expansion comes risk and serious implications for financial supervision.

Smartphone-Led Digital Finance: Three Areas to Watch

The rapid uptake of smartphones stands to enable a transformational opportunity for digital finance, also raises important questions concerning security and privacy.

Ghana: DFS Taking Off Amid New Regulations and Market Momentum

Ghana looks increasingly poised to assert its regional leadership in digital financial services in West Africa.

Consumer Risks and Rewards Amid Increased Competition in Kenya

In Kenya, product development and the growth of agent networks are moving in the right direction to provide customers with more options, but we must also remain mindful of the risks these developments pose to customers.

Sprint or Limp? Investing In Customer Service to Achieve Success

Investing in first class platforms and agent training can be the difference between providers of digital financial services who "sprint" or "limp" across the finish line.

Five Ways Providers Can Do Digital Finance Better

A new Focus Note from CGAP recommends five core priorities for digital financial service providers to address to improve the safety, reliability, and performance of their products, channels, and systems.

Seven Customer Risks that Need Attention Now

CGAP’s latest Focus Note identifies seven key risk areas for customers of digital financial services.