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

More than 180 million small merchants operate in developing and emerging markets around the world, conducting financial transactions worth an estimated US $6.5 trillion per year and interacting with more than 4.5 billion customers every day. These merchants have the potential to jumpstart the growth of a cashless ecosystem, but current digital payment systems are not a good deal for small merchants, and nor are their benefits readily apparent.

Micro and small merchants represent two key untapped opportunities: 1) a path to financial inclusion, and 2) a commercial market for financial service providers. How can we unlock both opportunities?

Join Visa, Dalberg Global Development Advisors, and the Global Development Incubator for a breakfast session where we will announce a new report that explores this question and more, drawing on interviews with more than 400 merchants and dozens of key financial stakeholders.