Yes, COVID is the Big Bang of Digital Payments

Social transfer payments were among the triggers of explosive mobile money growth last year. What measures do we need to take to support vulnerable consumers going forward?

How Is Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy Going?

Since it was unveiled nine years ago, the strategy has run into hurdles. This post details them and offers recommendations.

Regulatory Headwinds on the Horizon for Chinese Fintechs: Where Do Consumers Fit In?

What Does It Take for a Woman to Become Financially Capable?

A more tailored approach is needed. But how?

Cautious Optimism: MSMEs Are Rebounding From the Impacts of COVID-19

Policymakers and financial service providers (FSPs) nevertheless must act to bolster the recovery and decrease vulnerability.

Behavioral Science for Financial Health in a Digital World: An Interview With Evelyn Stark

The CFI Advisory Council member and MetLife Foundation leader also comments on CFI’s new strategic pillars for financial inclusion.

Care Work During Crisis: Pandemic Unravels Fragile Gains in Gender Equality

The financial services industry, governments, and civil society should collaborate to expand social protection schemes to ensure coverage for women working in the informal sector. This will help reverse the unequal burden of poverty on women.

Rethinking Financial Inclusion at the Data Margins

This is the first in a series of blog posts that explores the endless-data era’s impacts on financial inclusion.

The Challenge of Bringing Agri-SMEs and Lenders Closer Together

New “bankability” metrics, which incorporate robust sector data and research, aim to further understand how to close the estimated $65 billion financing gap in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Revisiting Building Financial Capability with a Gender Lens

We must see women as part of a larger ecosystem that impacts their opportunities to learn, apply the information, and make economic decisions for themselves and their families.

Breaking Silos and Challenging Inequities in America: An Interview with Jennifer Tescher

The founder and CEO of the Financial Health Network discusses COVID’s impact on communities of color, Financial Health Network’s projects for 2021, and her take on CFI’s strategic priorities.

Prof. Jonathan Morduch’s Four New Projects

With the pandemic restricting direct research, 2020 was a year of planning and preparing for a busy 2021 that will (if the pandemic abates) take Prof. Morduch and his collaborators from rural villages in South Asia to Compton, California – all with a view towards further deepening our understanding of the lives of the poor.

Preparing for the Long Tail of COVID’s Impact on Microfinance

While similarities between the pandemic and the financial crisis a decade ago exist, the threats are now more external, which is one reason CFI is publishing an updated case study series: Weathering the Storm II.

Top 10 CFI Blog Posts of 2020

Data, consumer protection, and women's financial inclusion were among the most read topics this year.

Combating the Rise in Fraudulent Fintech Apps

Exploratory research by academics at the University of Zurich indicates a troubling trend of exploitative apps -- buoyed by likely fake reviews -- promising access to cheap financial products during the pandemic.

Have We Passed the Test? Reflections on the Test of a Lifetime

What have we learned from the responses to COVID-19 undertaken around the world, and has inclusive finance risen to the occasion?

Three Ways Governments Expedited Social Payments During COVID

A new CFI policy brief details ways vulnerable beneficiaries were onboarded quickly and innovatively during the pandemic. Here’s a summary and a selection of examples from that brief.

Digital Finance and Women’s Economic Empowerment: Possibilities and Pitfalls

More evidence on digital financial services and women's economic empowerment is needed to understand impact and eliminate the risk of worsening gender inequality.