In this video we created for Financial Inclusion Week, we sift through data to tell the story of businesses straddling the borderlands between the cash and digital economies after COVID-19.
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The Revolution MUST be Digitalized
If MFIs fail to digitalize, it could mean the end of financial services for the rural poor, because the business case is so challenging, particularly compared to the diverse, low-cost opportunities to serve the higher-value, connected urban market. In short, this could end years of progress towards financial and social inclusion.
Read MoreResources on Digital Money and Upcoming Webinars
Digital Money Systems Explained: In Conversation with Mastercard’s Jesse McWaters (Part A)
In our December faiVLive webinar, FAI’s Tim Ogden sat down with financial policy expert Jesse McWaters, Head of Global Digital Public Policy at Mastercard, to demystify some basic questions around digital money and its evolving role in financial inclusion. What’s the difference between a digital payment system and a digital currency? What is blockchain really and how should we use it? Who makes the rules in a decentralized digital money system? Do those rules protect or expose consumers? Can the offerings and their regulations be designed to be pro-poor?
This two-part blog post distills the conversation from that webinar. This one covers some basic frameworks for thinking about these concepts. The next will cover the regulatory environment around digital systems.
Read MoreRegister Now | From M-Pesa to Dogecoin to the Digital Naira: The Role of Digital Money in Financial Inclusion
Join FAI’s Tim Ogden in conversation with Jesse McWaters, the Global Head of Regulatory Advocacy at Mastercard, to explore some basic frameworks for understanding the differences between the rapidly growing types of digital currencies. Through this session you’ll gain a better grasp of new and evolving digital means of exchange, how they interact, and what that means for pro-poor financial inclusion.
Read MoreWhen is Fintech Pro-Poor? 4 Key Takeaways on Risk, Transparency & Sector Priorities
faiVLive: How Low-Income Households Save—And Can We Help?
Savings has traditionally been measured by asking about “account” balances, or in national accounts by comparing incomes to expenditures. But we know that low-income households often save actively. They build up and draw down their funds throughout the year—what Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton termed “high frequency savings”—even if their balances don’t grow. Watch the recording here.
Read MoreResources for faiVLive: Digital Financial Services and the Future of Financial Inclusion in Latin America (en español)
La pandemia ha elevado el perfil de los Servicios Financieros Digitales (SFD), los cuales han permitido una distribución sorprendentemente rápida de los fondos de apoyo social, ofreciendo un camino para brindar servicios financieros de forma segura y a escala. Sin embargo, aún quedan asuntos importantes que considerar en cuanto al despliegue e impacto final de los SFD. ¿Quiénes están siendo excluidos? ¿Cómo podemos asegurarnos de que los nuevos actores y modelos empresariales incorporen las necesidades de las comunidades y los clientes de escasos recursos? Esta edición de faiVLive reúne a profesionales e investigadores expertos para abordar estas preguntas y debatir el camino a seguir para los SFD y la inclusión financiera en América Latina. El webinar tuvo lugar el 15 de septiembre. Todavía se puede acceder a la grabación aquí.
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