Latest Financial inclusion News: Finextra Research

Visa backs Branch for mobile-based lending in developing markets

Branch International, a San Francisco-based startup that uses mobile phones to offer loans to people without bank accounts in developing countries, has closed a $170 million Series C funding round led by Foundation Capital and Visa, which is also backing the firm through a strategic partnership.

08 April 2019

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Money 20/20 Asia round-up: Accelerating financial services for the underbanked

On its return to Asia for the second year running, Money20/20 put on a world-class event in Singapore and welcomed senior leaders in financial services, fintech and payments to connect over major developments in digital money.

25 March 2019

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Money 20/20 Asia: Leveraging data to provide the unbanked with credit

Money 20/20 Asia day three opened with a detailed discussion on reaching the unbanked in South East Asia, following an age in which financial inclusion has been driven by regulatory and policy mandates. Today, the ‘financial inclusion market’ is leveraging data analytics to offer a greater choice for consumers and expand in areas that financial institutions previously avoided because of increased paperwork.

21 March 2019

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Omidyar Network spins out financial inclusion fintech investment arm with $300m pot

The Omidyar Network is spinning off its financial inclusion investment unit, launching a new venture firm with a $300 million pot for backing startups helping people around the world capture economic opportunity.

08 March 2019

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Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in digital currency pilot

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is teaming up with Overstock-owned, Barbados-based, blockchain firm Bitt to pilot a blockchain-based central bank digital currency (CBDC).

07 March 2019

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Christine Lagarde on the Mary Poppins effect and the villainisation of bankers

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, is pushing back at the characterisation of bankers as villains, pointing out that financial institutions help families buy homes and save for rainy days.

05 March 2019

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UN report dismisses fintech sandboxes in developing economies

The rise of fintech has the potential to extend the benefits of financial inclusion to millions of people but also poses complex regulatory challenges, says a new UN-backed report which also questions the value of the increasingly popular sandbox approach.

15 February 2019

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Financial inclusion takes stage at massive blockchain hackathon

Financial inclusion and security will be one of the challenges at what is being billed as the world's largest blockchain and AI hackathon, taking place in the Netherlands this April.

08 February 2019

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Diverse teams in financial services lead to inclusive innovation - PIMFA

Launching the inaugural Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association (PIMFA) Wealth of Diversity Conference, John Glen MP, economic secretary to the Treasury and City Minister UK Government, urged financial firms to narrow the gender gap and neutralise ethnic biases in the workplace in order to dive innovation.

06 February 2019

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ECB's Cœuré touts faster payments to promote financial inclusion

Boosting financial inclusion in developing markets will require work to broaden access to payment services, possibly through the creation of infrastructure modelled on Europe's new Target Instant Payment Settlement (Tips) and, in the longer term, the introduction of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), says ECB executive board member Benoît Cœuré.

01 February 2019

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India central bank convenes digital payments panel

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recruited the Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani to head up an advisory panel on the development of digital payments.

09 January 2019

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Lights, camera, action! Finextra TV highlights 2018

It’s been a busy year for the Finextra TV team, posting 251 video interviews with leading industry figures during the course of 2018. Here are the top five by viewing figures.

21 December 2018

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