1. Digital Payments: Facebook is finalizing preparations to begin offering financial services to its users, allowing them to store and exchange money. CNBC
2. Remittances: A new report on the impact of remittance fees on Africa's development investment claims that reducing charges to 5% would increase transfers to the continent by $1.8 billion annually. Overseas Development Institute
3. Financial Inclusion: The next generation of ATM innovations (sending money to someone, paying bills, and loading a portion of a check) may not require a bank account and could potentially provide alternative financial services to the unbanked. American Banker
4. Behavioral Economics: What's next as behavioral economics matures? Is it a unique field that can inspire innovative policies or just "economics plus common sense"? TimHarford.com
5. Credit: David Roodman reviews The Economist's recent coverage of a new World Bank working paper by Shahidur R. Khandker and Hussain A. Samad on the dynamics of microcredit in Bangladesh. David Roodman.com
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