NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, October 28, 2016

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based, nonprofit research center that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, and the Citi Foundation, the charitable arm of US-based financial services firm Citigroup, recently launched the “East Asia Digital Financial Inclusion Program”. The program’s goal is to engage policymakers in China, Indonesia and the Philippines to bring best practices relating to digital financial services to and from other parts of the world.

Timothy Lyman, the Global Policy Architecture Lead at CGAP, said: “The policy environment is a crucial factor in closing the financial inclusion gap to over 2 billion unbanked people around the world. It helps determine the range and quality of formal financial services available and on how many…customers take up and use the services on an ongoing basis”.

Regina Seow, the Regional Head of Corporate Citizenship at Citi Asia Pacific, said: “The rapid development of digital financial services promises to be a game-changing opportunity for reaching the excluded and underserved populations. However, a hasty adoption may also pose risks. We are pleased to partner with CGAP to better understand the implications of digital financial inclusion both at the global and country levels and work at advancing a more enabling and protective environment”.