The faiV

Week of April 21, 2014

1. Payments: Wal-Mart launched Walmart-2-Walmart this week – a new service that will allow customers to send and receive up to $900 at a time at more than 4,000 stores.  The Wall Street Journal

2. Financial Inclusion: Shawn Cole of Harvard Business School stresses the importance of design in serving poor customers, specifically how the process of creating products meant to “bank the unbanked” is unique. CFI Blog

3. Cash Transfers: Christopher Blattman and Paul Niehaus discuss the latest developments in the world of cash transfers, including how they can serve as index funds for international development. Foreign Affairs

4. Microfinance: FAI affiliate Daniel Rozas examines equity exits in MFIs and what characterizes one as responsible. CGAP

5. Digital Financial Services:  Facebook may be entering the payments space, but it's not the first time it has dipped its toes in these waters, nor are the challenges different. MobilePaymentsToday.com