1. SMEs: SMEs in the developing world are sometimes too big to access a microloan but too small to attract major investors or capital. Could crowdfunding offer a solution? InfoDev
2. Microfinance: From Bangladesh to the Hawkeye state - the American Midwest may be microfinance's newest frontier. The Guardian
3. U.S. Economy: Five facts on income inequality in the US. Pew Research
Week of October 6, 2014
1. Financial Inclusion: India’s vision of boosting financial inclusion by building thousands of bank branches may be inadequate if those branches actively prevent customers from purchasing low-cost products. IFMR
2. Insurance: How can small firms protect themselves against risks and continue with expansion plans even in an environment of uncertainty? The World Bank - Development Impact
3. Housing: A new study finds that relative to homeowners, renters in the U.S. comprise a financially fragile population that is burdened by debt and lacks emergency savings. FINRA
Week of September 29, 2014
1. Savings: How do you build credit without a bank account? One strategy is linking savings group activity to credit bureaus and formalizing invisible financial activitythat already occurs in many households, including those in the U.S. Financial Diaries project. Vox
2. Financial Inclusion: What explains Latin America's financial inclusion gap? Poor-quality institutions, income inequality, and low educational achievements. Center for Global Development
3. Microcredit: Smart Campaign responds to the recent debate on responsible pricing and self-regulation from the 17th Microcredit Summit in Mexico. NextBillion
Week of September 22, 2014
1. Impact Evaluations: Most impact evaluations look at interventions to improve the lives of the poor, but are they actually making poor people’s lives better? The World Bank - Development Impact
2. Financial Inclusion: Elisabeth Rhyne reminds us the recipe for digital financial inclusion (technology + efficient delivery models + effective regulation) is easier said then done, even when a country has all of the "ingredients" in place. Center for Financial Inclusion
3. Retail Banking: Walmart announced it now offers customers a low-cost checking account product through a partnership with GoGreen. The new "GoBank" accounts have no overdraft fees or minimum balance requirements. TechCrunch
Week of September 15, 2014
1. Credit: In 2013, 4 million workers, or about 3% of all employees, had wages garnished for a consumer debt in 2013 - sometimes at rates of up to 25% per paycheck. ProPublica
2. Poverty in the US: The poverty rate in the US dropped for the first time since 2006, but the number of Americans living in poverty remains the same. US Census Bureau
3. Microfinance: MFIs in West Africa respond to Ebola outbreak. While some are suspending operations, others are granting loan forgiveness, or spreading preventive information to their communities. CFI
Week of September 8, 2014
1. Payments: Will Apple's new payments software usher in the digital wallet revolution? The New York Times
2. Microcredit: The opening session of the 2014 Microcredit Summit dared to ask why microloan prices—and profits—are so high in Mexico. NextBillion
3. India: As of 2012, 680 million Indians lack the means to meet basic needs - more than 2.5 times the population below the official poverty line. McKinsey & Company
Read MoreWeek of September 1, 2014
1. Sustainable Development Goals: FAI affiliate Michael Clemens reacts to the inclusion of migration policy in the latest draft of the UN's SDGs... Center for Global Development
2. Immigration: ...while David Roodman evaluates the domestic economic impact of migration for receiving countries. David Roodman
3. Payments: Together with MasterCard, Nigeria began the pilot phase of its new eID program, which combines biometric-based identification with an electronic payment system. AllAfrica
Read MoreWeek of August 25, 2014
1. Digital Payments: "Digitizing government payments can serve as a catalyst, spurring further innovation in this space and paving the way for more involvement by private sector actors and the international community." The World Bank - Let's Talk Development
2. Postal Banking: While the US continues to debate the impact of postal banking, a new paper reviews how these services evolved in the developing world. University of Freiburg
3. Savings: Airtel Uganda, in conjunction with Grameen Foundation, has developed a service that will allow savings groups to store their group’s cash as mobile money. Grameen Foundation
Week of August 18, 2014
1. Savings: Will increased access to formal savings accounts in India translate to greater financial inclusion? Live Mint
2. Remittances: FAI's Timothy Ogden spoke with The New York Times' editorial board about some of the macro challenges of remittance systems and the role that the World Bank could play in alleviating the costs and burdens of anti-money laundering regulations. The New York Times
3. Financial Diaries: A financial diaries project in Kenya provides new insights into how low-income Kenyans use and think about their money. FSD Kenya
Week of August 11, 2014
1. Cash Transfers: Conditional cash transfers in the US encounter ridicule and skepticism, but this "foreign import" for the war on poverty has promise. Politico
2. Payday Lending: A new app allows hourly workers to immediately access wages they’ve already earned, without having to wait for their employer’s standard pay cycle or relying on payday lenders for quick cash. Wired
3. Mobile Banking: How can regulatory “best practices” in digital financial services move away from focusing on enabling participation in the market to fostering competition? Ignacio Mas outlines a few strategies. The World Bank - All About Finance
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