Electronic banking, social enterprise incubators, and global financial inclusion are all in this week’s round up of what is new and notable in the field.
- In her blog post for CFI, Elizabeth Davidson discusses the recent movement to regulate Walmart’s activities in the financial sector, specifically its Bluebird prepaid card service. Davidson highlights a parallel example of the expansion of Banco Azteca in Mexico and its function as a “gateway” to larger, more traditional financial institutions for the poor.
- Together with Village Capital, The Aspen Institute released a review of the role of accelerators and incubators in the social enterprise and impact investing arenas. The report claims it’s the first quantitative assessment of the impact accelerator landscape and surveys 52 organizations worldwide.
- The Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings recently hosted a forum to explore the impact of mobile devices on business practices and entrepreneurship in the developing world.
A new report published by the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, found evidence of a link between citizenship and increased financial inclusion.
Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow and Director of the Civil Society at the Council on Foreign Relations, recently hosted a forum to discuss how to reach the two billion people who do not have access to formal financial services. She also wrote a complementary article on the event for the CFR blog.
Felix Salmon, who is currently attending the Underbanked Financial Services Forum in Miami, shared his thoughts on mobile check-cashing and what it means for the unbanked.
Last but certainly not least, the US Financial Diaries project posted profiles of six households participating in the study, which promises a timely and independent look at how low- and moderate-income Americans are managing their financial lives.
Editor’s Note: I’m going to assume that you are seeing plenty of AI content (news and papers, not AI slop, though I’m sure you’re getting plenty of that too) from other sources, so I’m trying to think hard about the marginal value that the faiV can provide. As far as I’ve gotten so far: a) make sure that directly AI-related content does not take up more than 2 of the 5 items, and b) try to focus specifically on the cybersecurity issue for financial inclusion. Beyond that, I’m open to feedback on the value you get from the faiV in relation to AI to help guide us in the future. On a different note, I’ll be making a brief cameo appearance at the e-MFP Inclusive Finance Conference to moderate the opening plenary. If you haven’t registered, do so and I hope to see you there! - Tim Ogden