1. Financial Services: An audit study of financial institutions in peri-urban Mexico found staff voluntarily provides little information about avoidable fees and clients are almost never offered the cheapest product. The World Bank
2. US Income Inequality: "'Economic despair' provides a decisive blow to the nation’s mythical identity as the land of opportunity: for many children at the bottom, it suggests, opportunity is not just out of reach. It is inconceivable." The New York Times
3. Digital Payments: 10 days in Kenya. No cash. 1 mobile phone. Business Week
Week of June 2, 2014
1. Financial Inclusion: As part EMERGE: The Forum on Consumer Financial Service Innovation, attendees got a taste of what it is like (including how expensive it is) to be unbanked. American Banker
2. Student Debt: Despite the fact that student debt in the US passed the $1 trillion mark, new research from the NY Fed shows many borrowers are not aware of what happens if they default. Liberty Street Economics
3. Financial Services: Google created a new service that searches Gmail accounts for correspondence from creditors then sends a reminder when a bill is due with the amount owed. PYMNTS.com
Week of May 26, 2014
1. Cash Transfers: Opponents of cash transfers argue the poor waste their funds on alcohol and tobacco. But a review of 44 estimates of consumption across 19 studies and 13 interventions does not show evidence of increased spending on these goods. The World Bank - Development Impact Blog
2. Mobile Banking: Sometimes mobile banking is a little too helpful. The New Yorker
3. Financial Access: The bank branch may make a comeback after all - new research on issues relating to financial access among communities of color shows individuals surveyed greatly preferred to bank in person rather than use online services, even if they owned a smartphone. National Council of La Raza
Week of May 19, 2014
1. Remittances: Why have such rapid increases in remittances not resulted in noticeable improvements in economic growth in the recipient countries? Michael Clemens and David McKenzie investigate possible answers in a new working paper. The World Bank - Development Impact Blog
2. Poverty in the US: Over the past 30 years, government spending on the poorest Americans dwindled - those living far below the poverty line now receive less government assistance than they did in 1983 and spending has shifted to the relatively more well-off. Slate
3. Cash Transfers: After receiving $150, five days of training, and intensive supervision, ultra-poor women in Uganda doubled their business ownership and their incomes, according to a newly published study. Chrisblattman.com
Week of May 12, 2014
1. Bank Transparency: Wal-Mart is known as a low-cost retailer, but customers of the independent banks inside its outlets are among America's highest payers of bank fees. The 5 banks with the most Wal-Mart branches ranked among the top 10 in fee income as a percentage of deposits in 2013. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
2. Financial Sector Investment: A new report finds that the financial sector is now the largest beneficiary of World Bank Group investment, receiving $36 billion between July 2009 and June 2013 the IFC. Over the same period the World Bank’s public sector arms committed $22.1 billion to health and $12.4 billion to education. Bretton Woods Project
3. Credit: "There are two housing markets in America. It's not one for student debtors and one for non-student-debtors. Rather, it's one market for healthy corporations, who are buying at a historic rate; and one market for families, which is still quite sick." The Atlantic
Week of May 5, 2014
1. Mobile Money: New data show the potential of Bitcoin and mobile money for disruption in payments and transfers systems in the developing world (particularly sub-Saharan Africa) has a long way to go before becoming a reality. Business Insider
2. Payments: Despite the rise of electronic payment methods, cash is still king in the US. According to the Federal Reserve, cash is the most popular consumer payment instrument, particularly for small-value transactions. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
3. Financial Inclusion: Financial Inclusion Insights (FII) announced the launch of its 2014 Open Data Challenge. Participants can win up to $5000 and a chance to present their innovative analysis of financial inclusion indicators through FII's conferences and network. Financial Inclusion Insights
Read MoreWeek of April 28, 2014
1. Poverty in the US: Despite improved living standards, the poor in the US have fallen further behind the middle class and the affluent in both income and consumption. In addition, the cost of many services crucial to escaping poverty — including education, health care and child care — has soared. The New York Times
2. Behavioral Economics: A new report illustrates how policy makers and human services administrators can draw on the principles of behavioral economics to design programs to better serve poor and vulnerable populations in the US. OPRE
3. Financial Services: Large financial institutions continue to move away from brick-and-mortar branches in favor of online banking – banks closed a total of 281 branches in the US in the first three months of 2014, representing approximately 2% more total closures in branches than last year. Quartz
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
Read MoreWeek of April 14, 2014
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
Read MoreWeek of April 7, 2014
1. Savings: FAI affiliate Ignacio Mas challenges us to step back from usage data and rethink how we approach the development of savings products for the poor. Center for Financial Inclusion
2. Behavioral Economics: According to Helaine Olen, Americans' financial woes have "more to do with the outside economy than their inner psyche." Bloomberg
3. Payments: New research presents findings on who is using prepaid debit cards and why. One suprising finding? it's not necessarily the unbanked - 7 in 8 users have or previously had a checking account. The Pew Charitable Trusts
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