3 ‘model countries’ selected for a new financial inclusion initiative

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Of the 2 billion adults without access to a bank account, 1.6 billion people do have access to a phone, and donors are demonstrating an interest in turning that mobile phone access into mobile payments adoption.

Yesterday, the World Bank Group, International Telecommunication Union and Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures launched the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with a $12 million grant, this is a three-year program in which interagency working groups will work to advance research in digital financial services in order to accelerate financial inclusion in developing countries. Mexico, Egypt and China were selected as the focus of this new initiative to connect millions of unbanked people to formal financial systems.

Devex took a closer look at how these three model developing countries, as the initiative calls them, might be starting points for digital financial inclusion initiatives and innovations around the world.

“The three countries selected were chosen based on potential for country programs, level of national government and private sector commitment to financial inclusion, number of people that could be reached through digital financial services, and potential for reforms to encourage innovation and digital technologies use,” read a statement issued Thursday.

Source: Devex (link opens in a new window)

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digital payments, financial inclusion, mobile finance