1. Mobile Banking: The newly released report, State of the Industry 2014: Mobile Financial Services for the Unbanked, shows 255 mobile money services are now live across 89 countries and the number of registered mobile money accounts globally grew to just under 300 million in 2014. GSMA
2. Health: "When you ask people what impacts health you'll get a lot of different answers: Access to good health care and preventative services, personal behavior, exposure to germs or pollution and stress. But if you dig a little deeper you'll find a clear dividing line, and it boils down to one word: money." NPR
3. Payday Lenders: Some two dozen Native American tribes are trading casinos and cigarettes for payday loans. The new lending ventures bring in much needed revenue for many reservations - but at what cost to borrowers? The Washington Post
4. Student Debt: Could student debt cancellation act as a long-term economic stimulus? Is it worth the upfront investment and forgone short-term revenue? The New York Times
5. Mobile Money Agents: Agents across Kenya frequently refuse mobile money transactions because they are mentally re-balancing their accounts to solve their "I don't have enough float" quandary. Microsave
Tweet of the week. . .
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