As countries around the world grapple with the economic impact of the COVID pandemic, governments have turned to supplemental cash transfers as a key policy instrument to offset the loss of income, mostly via digital payments.

Those countries with well-developed social protection systems, payments infrastructure, and wide access to digital financial services have fared much better in getting these payments out quickly, but even they have struggled to rapidly open accounts for their more vulnerable populations. Many of the people at risk fall outside the usual government welfare rolls and risk being overlooked -- especially informal workers, MSME owners/operators, and those working in hard-hit industries like tourism.

The COVID crisis forced policymakers to find innovative ways to deliver rapid support payments to those most in need. A critical aspect of getting this emergency aid out has been the ability to quickly identify and onboard eligible recipients who don’t already have transaction accounts and distribute the payments as soon as possible.
<blockquote class="pullquote--right">What are governments doing to enable rapid payments to those without existing accounts?</blockquote>
CFI’s latest <a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/rapid-response-for-social-payments-during-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">policy brief</a>, part of our partnership with Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), explores what governments are doing to enable rapid payments to those without existing accounts. The paper reviews three types of measures being taken to speed up payment distribution. Not surprisingly, the common theme is the ability and willingness of policymakers to be nimble and innovative. Below are a few examples, organized by type of measure:
<h2>1. Rapid Identification of Eligible Recipients</h2>
To quickly determine who’s eligible for COVID support payments, governments have had to be innovative in tapping into all available existing information, whether publicly or privately owned.
<h3>Current Beneficiary and Employment Rolls</h3>
<strong>Bangladesh Bank</strong> allowed government disbursement program information to be used to open permanent accounts on behalf of customers. The central bank also permitted the creation of accounts for ready-made garment (RMG) workers based on their employment record, given the low rates of digital IDs or other means to confirm their identity among the predominantly female group.
<h3>Voter Rolls</h3>
The Government of <strong>Togo</strong> established the Novissi cash transfer scheme, to provide support during the pandemic. Because Togo does not have a strong national ID system, they took advantage of a recent voter registration campaign to verify the identity of eligible recipients. <strong>Timor-Leste</strong> was also able to take advantage of its voter registration system, which had high sign-up rates after a recent election.
<h3>Mobile SIM Data</h3>
<strong>Zimbabwe</strong> took advantage of its <a href="https://theconversation.com/zimbabwes-restrictions-on-mobile-money-transfers-are-a-blow-to-financial-inclusion-147109" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">90 percent mobile money penetration</a> to make payments directly to the e-wallets of all phone numbers mapped to areas targeted for support payments, while <strong>Nigeria</strong> partnered with mobile network operators to <a href="https://blogs.imf.org/2020/06/22/youve-got-money-mobile-payments-help-people-during-the-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">identify vulnerable informal workers in urban areas through airtime purchase patterns</a>.
<blockquote>Governments have had to be innovative in tapping into all available existing information, whether publicly or privately owned.</blockquote>
<h2>2. Simplified Due Diligence for Rapid Account Opening</h2>
During COVID-19, policymakers and FSPs, in cooperation with regulators, have had to apply simplified customer due diligence (SDD), to rapidly open accounts for newly vulnerable recipients. Some of the key ways they’ve done this include use of mobile SIM registration data, employment records and deferred KYC measures.
<h3>Mobile SIM as ID</h3>
The <strong>Bank of Ghana</strong> expanded its tiered KYC to allow mobile phone subscribers to reuse their SIM card registration to open the lowest tier of e-money accounts, called <a href="https://www.bog.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/MPC-Press-Release-March-2020-3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Minimum KYC Accounts</a>. In <strong>Egypt</strong>, the central bank’s eKYC program allows customers to <a href="https://www.fintechfutures.com/2020/01/central-bank-of-egypt-pilots-ekyc-solution-for-financial-inclusion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">open bank accounts electronically</a>, by submitting their national ID number along with their mobile phone number to the telecommunications authority, which then confirms to the bank the information match for the mobile SIM registration.
<h3>Remote and/or Deferred CDD</h3>
In <strong>Pakistan</strong>, the government suspended the need for biometric confirmation for its Ehsaas Emergency Cash transfers, opening a <a href="https://www.pass.gov.pk/Detailf90ce1f7-083a-4d85-b3e8-60f75ba0d788" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">web portal for residents to handle applications and resolve any issues</a>, while the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) allowed a three-month window following the COVID crisis for in-person due diligence verification for basic accounts.
<h2>3. Use of Alternative Channels for Delivering Payments</h2>
Several jurisdictions have looked to new channels to quickly onboard beneficiaries and distribute social transfers, from mobile apps and websites to postal networks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs).
<h3>Apps and Websites</h3>
<strong>Brazil</strong>’s social assistance program aimed at informal workers, the coronavoucher, is accessible through a free mobile app the bank created specifically for this purpose (those without a cellphone could apply via this <a href="http://auxilio.caixa.gov.br/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a>).
<h3>Post Offices</h3>
In <strong>Madagascar</strong>, the government’s COVID cash transfer program, called Tosika Fomena, is made via the Madagascar postal system’s (Paositra Malagasy) cash transfer service called Paositra Money, and <a href="http://www.mptdn.gov.mg/?p=1974" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">can be retrieved</a> at any PO upon <a href="https://fr.allafrica.com/stories/202005261023.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">presentation of a national ID</a>. The <strong>South African Post Office</strong> (SAPO) <a href="https://www.techfinancials.co.za/2020/05/04/south-africa-post-office-unveils-cashless-atm-for-sassa-social-grants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rolled out 10,000 cashless ATMS in rural shops</a> to allow users to access payments without having to travel to urban centers.

In <strong>India</strong>, the post office enabled people to get their funds delivered to their homes during the COVID crisis, whether they have a postal bank account or not. By downloading the India Post Payment Bank app, the user is able to withdraw funds from any bank account and <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/india-post-delivers-rs-412-cr-cash-in-doorstep-banking-revolution/articleshow/75369897.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">have it delivered</a> either to the post office branch or to their home.
<h3>NBFIs</h3>
In <strong>Bangladesh</strong>, BRAC turned to the use of the country’s most prominent mobile money wallet, bKash, as a means of delivering aid to their clients. They opened mobile wallet accounts for <a href="http://blog.brac.net/cash-transfers-to-support-families-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">all the clients who had their own mobile numbers</a> and, for those that didn’t, especially the women, they allowed the use of a trusted family member’s wallet.

In <strong>Ecuador</strong>, the government <a href="http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/129771593464547099/World-Bank-G2Px-COVID19-Ecuador-Brief.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">implemented a social transfer program</a> aimed at vulnerable households, utilizing cooperatives as well as banks to distribute the funds. Unlike cooperatives in most countries, many of Ecuador’s cooperatives are connected to the national payment system.
<h2>The Path Forward</h2>
While countries have made impressive progress over the last decade in broadening the reach of digital financial services, the COVID pandemic has magnified the remaining gaps and weaknesses in helping the most vulnerable. As governments continue with national infrastructure programs, especially around ID and payments, we offer the following crucial considerations for national governments:
<h3><strong>Value of Universal Access to Basic Accounts Opened Under SDD</strong></h3>
This pandemic has demonstrated the potential value of universal access to basic accounts that can be opened under SDD (simplified customer due diligence) measures and at no initial cost to the customer. Should all members of society, as a matter of course, be able to open accounts – immediately and remotely -- for receipt of government emergency payments?
<h3>Importance of Whole of Government Communication and Policy Responses</h3>
Like many aspects of the COVID crisis, communications have been a critical aspect of program success and/or failure. In some countries, for example, unclear messaging on how to apply for or access funds has led to overcrowding at government offices or state banks, forcing those offices to close and leading to public turmoil.
<h3>Clear, Ongoing Dialogue and Interactive Decision-making</h3>
Clear, ongoing dialogue and interactive decision-making between government ministries, regulators and FSPs -- especially payment service providers -- has proven vital to ensuring quick action on rapid onboarding programs. Governments already have established emergency protocols with telecommunications and power companies. How can governments put in place formal emergency mechanisms to engage all relevant ministries and private-sector actors, especially payment service providers, for any future crisis situations?
<h3>How can countries put in place mechanisms to address identification and verification for future crises?</h3>
One approach is to loosen impediments to the sharing of various government beneficiary databases, but there is much to understand around data privacy and security and it is unclear whether this approach is the answer. Given the likelihood of future crises, it is prudent that governments begin the longer-term dialogue and investment needed to address governance of data sharing.
<h3>What are the mechanisms that governments can use to expedite digital infrastructure partnerships with the private sector?</h3>
Where government doesn’t yet have the necessary infrastructure -- including, among others, digital payments, identification, and government databases -- partnerships with industry allow them to leverage existing capabilities and information sharing. The use of mobile SIM registration is a prime example of collaboration to address shortcomings in existing ID infrastructure. Rather than treating each situation as a one-off event, one approach is for governments to institute ongoing cooperation agreements with MNOs and other private/public sector actors to react quickly to events as necessary.
<h3>Governments must consider how they reach beneficiaries that are not digitally connected and may never be.</h3>
The cases in our report highlighted usage of alternative distribution channels through institutions such as post offices and NBFIs. These players already serve low-income people, often via some combination of cash and digital means. Those beneficiaries that only want to deal in cash must continue to be accommodated. But that doesn’t mean that the institutions they use must also deal only in cash. The further that governments can push out the digitization of payments, especially to the “last mile,” the more efficient and expedient the delivery system can be made before it’s transferred back to cash for final delivery.

<a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/rapid-response-for-social-payments-during-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Find out more</a> about these policy considerations, and about how countries have innovated and operationalized social payments for the underserved during this difficult time.

Three Ways Governments Expedited Social Payments During COVID

As countries around the world grapple with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have turned to supplemental cash transfers as a key policy instrument to offset the loss of income of their citizens.

This policy brief explores what national governments are doing to enable rapid payments to those without existing accounts. The swift measures governments took to speed up payments to citizens during the pandemic include:
<ul>
 	<li>Quick identification of eligible recipients</li>
 	<li>Simplification of customer due diligence for rapid account opening</li>
 	<li>Greater use of alternative channels such as mobile apps, post offices, and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) such as microfinance providers.</li>
</ul>
Each section of this brief includes country-specific examples and key takeaways. Efforts by 19 countries to facilitate cash transfers, both digital and non-digital, are discussed.

This publication is the second in a <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/series/policy-responses-to-covid-19-their-impacts-on-low-income-customers">series</a> of policy briefs on COVID-19 economic policy responses and their impact on low-income customers.

Rapid Response for Social Payments During COVID-19

Why is it that <a href="http://datatopics.worldbank.org/financialinclusion/">80 percent</a> of bank account holders in Madagascar only use their accounts once a month or less?

What makes the parents of a child requiring unforeseen medical treatment in the DRC choose to approach their <a href="http://cenfri.org/blog/ive-got-your-back">mutualitée</a> (a local form of informal mutual aid society) for a loan despite access to a microfinance institution or local bank?

If a Zimbabwean has a mobile money account, why does he ask a family member to send him money in the care of a bus driver rather than through that mobile account?

The gap between uptake and usage is well documented in financial inclusion. But while these insights are important evidence of the gap, they tell us very little about <em>why </em>this gap exists. The result is that we know there is a problem, but without understanding why, we can do very little to change the problem.

To help us better understand the why, we at <a href="http://www.i2ifacility.org">insight2impact</a> (i2i) have been <a href="http://access.i2ifacility.org/Publications/i2i%20MFW%20Note%203%20-%20Financial%20services%20usage_Digital.pdf">exploring the factors that affect usage</a>. In doing so we have incorporated insights from across multiple fields on human decision-making and applied the most relevant aspects of existing models and understanding to the field of financial inclusion.

Decision-making is important for both financial service providers (FSPs) and policymakers to understand, but it isn’t simple, and, typically, our decisions are not based on one single factor. Furthermore, psychology and behavioral economics have illustrated that in some cases we are not even cognitively aware of many of the important factors that influence our decisions.

Some of these factors appear straightforward at first. For example, in the case of mobile money use in Zimbabwe, although the bus drivers do not carry the money free of charge, they charge the sender and the recipient does not pay a fee.

However, if you unpack this further, you may find that there are other factors that influence the decision. As one mobile money user explained, “It took me a long time to start using it [mobile money account], maybe because I didn’t trust it. I didn’t trust the services … I wasn’t sure how it was going to be working out."

Addressing or removing the barriers to usage does not mean people will automatically make use of specific products, nor does initial uptake (even voluntary uptake) imply sustained use. There is a trigger that results in uptake and first-time use, but this is often followed by a significant drop-off in activity. This is often evident in mobile money, where <a href="http://cenfri.org/documents/MAP/2015/Malawi/MAP%20Malawi%20Diagnostic%20Report.pdf">promotions for free airtime lead to spikes in uptake</a>, but low usage is observed over time, and consumers continue to rely on cash.

So, what are the factors that affect financial decision-making (the drivers of usage)? In our understanding, there are a range of factors, but they largely fall into three categories:

• <strong>Functional:</strong> Fundamentally, positive relative value is required for a person to continue using a device (although perceived value rather than actual value drives decisions). These functional drivers are the most obvious and visible component of decision-making. In the example cited above the respondent asked that money be delivered via a bus driver to avoid paying transaction fees.

It may be tempting to just stop here. However, we know that what influences our decisions goes beyond the basic dollars and cents:

• <strong>Relational:</strong> Relational factors like trust have been explored in detail by other researchers, but we want to delve deeper to understand what constitutes trust in the use of financial services and how this manifests. In our example, the individual in Zimbabwe signed up for a mobile money account but delayed using it until a level of trust had been established. Other relational drivers, like belonging, have not been explored as deeply, yet still appear to play an important role in decision-making.

• <strong>Behavioral:</strong> Individuals may be unaware of some of the factors that influence their thinking and the way they respond to things, but a better grasp of these behavioral drivers (and the way these are affected through specific interventions) will be useful for FSPs attempting to drive usage of specific products and for policymakers keen to deliver impact through financial inclusion policies. One example is hyperbolic discounting – the fact that people prioritize present value over future value and choose smaller rewards now over larger rewards at a later time – which influences the way that people perceive relative value and cost for short and long-term products/needs.

Individuals make decisions within a context and that context has an influence on the outcome of their decision. We call these structural factors.

• <strong>Structural:</strong> We define these as the contextual considerations (for example, gender, level of urbanization, and so forth) that influence the drivers identified above and therefore affect uptake and usage, but which the individual, policymaker or FSP will have no or very little control over.

Of course, given the complexity of human decision-making, many of these factors resist our attempts at simple, neat classification. As an example, trust in financial services is often the outcome of number of experiences, and even a composite of other drivers. It can be affected by behavioral factors like an intrinsic bias (for example, certain providers are “out to get me”) or social factors like having viewed negative comments about a specific provider on social media.

Through a closer examination of the drivers mentioned above, i2i hopes to understand what the most critical drivers of financial product usage are and how they interact and influence each other.

The drivers of usage don’t only explain why or whether people opt to (continually) use a financial service, but which device they use and which provider they turn to – including whether these are formal providers or informal providers like savings groups or friends and family. These insights are likely to be valuable to FSPs, policymakers and development organizations alike.

The objective with this work is not to build an exhaustive model of all the individual factors that influence consumers’ decisions to use financial products, but rather to offer a framework that simplifies reality in that it encompasses all the key factors of customer decision-making in digestible form. Better understanding the range of, and the most important, factors that influence use will aid policymakers and providers to design policy approaches and products that target sustained use rather than merely uptake.

We would love to hear from you if you think we have omitted a category of drivers, or if you have previously conducted research in the field. Email <a href="mailto:jeremy@cenfri.org">jeremy@cenfri.org</a> to contribute to this analysis of the drivers of financial services usage.

<em>In addition to this desktop research on drivers of usage, insight2impact will be piloting demand-side surveys in select countries to better understand people’s financial needs and how they go about meeting these needs in different environments. The insights from our desktop research and these pilots will enable us to refine <a href="http://i2ifacility.org/news/measuring-impact-in-the-financial-sector">our measurement frameworks</a> and contribute to a richer understanding of financial inclusion.</em>

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="https://cfi-blog.org/2015/06/09/considerations-for-the-pursuit-of-financial-inclusion/">Considerations for the Pursuit of Financial Inclusion - Beyond Account Access</a>

<a href="https://cfi-blog.org/2016/10/25/building-trust-and-growing-digital-financial-services-a-look-at-jumo/">Building Trust and Growing Digital Financial Services: A Look at JUMO</a>

<a href="https://cfi-blog.org/2017/09/27/financial-inclusion-from-a-consumer-perspective/">Financial Inclusion from a Consumer Perspective</a>

Closing the Gap between Uptake and Usage of Financial Products

<a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/publications-a-resources/browse-publications/534-2013-global-microscope"><img class="alignright wp-image-16543" style="border: 2px solid #000000" src="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/microscope.png" alt="" width="280" height="353" /></a>If there’s one thing we’ve learned in taking a close look at financial inclusion efforts around the world, it’s that context matters. That’s why we are excited to be part of the team releasing the <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/publications-a-resources/browse-publications/534-global-microscope"><em>Global Microscope 2014: The Enabling Environment for Financial Inclusion</em></a>. The <em>Microscope</em> is carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) with sponsorship and guidance from the Multilateral Investment Fund of the IDB, CAF, and Citi. The <em>Microscope</em> evaluates the environment for financial inclusion in 55 different countries and provides powerful signals to policymakers in each country on their progress. Which countries topped the list and which have the most room to grow?

We’ll tell you, but first, it’s important to know what the results mean. Each country inspected in the <em>Microscope</em> is assessed on 12 indicators that consider best practices in national regulatory environments and institutional support for providers serving clients at the base of the pyramid. Indicators range from government support for financial inclusion, to supervision of microfinance and other financial products, the status of credit reporting, regulations governing mobile banking and, last but not least, consumer protection.

This year is an important one in the publication’s eight year history because the focus shifted from microfinance to the environment for financial inclusion, a process that involved adapting the framework to account for today’s diversity of providers and products. What we were surprised by, however, was just how little a difference this made in the rankings. We charted last year’s results on the microfinance environment against this year’s results on the financial inclusion environment and we found a very high correlation between the two (see figure below). Environments that are enabling for microfinance are often environments that are enabling for financial inclusion. Six countries from last year’s top 10 were in this year’s top ten.

<a href="http://bit.ly/1s9k6T0"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-16546" src="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/microscope-figure.png" alt="" width="600" height="290" /></a>

So, who leads the pack? Here’s the list of the top 10 countries and their scores (on a scale of 0 to 100).
<p style="padding-left: 30px">1) Peru -- 87</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px">2) Colombia -- 85</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px">3) Philippines -- 79</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px">4) Chile -- 66</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px">5) Mexico and India (tie) -- 61</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px">7) Bolivia and Pakistan (tie) -- 58</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px">9) Cambodia and Tanzania (tie) -- 56</p>
There were three very clear champions: Peru, Colombia, and the Philippines, whose scores are well above the next-ranked country, Chile. Peru and Colombia performed strongly across the board, scoring in the top five on nearly all indicators. The Philippines’ inclusion environment ranked well in part due to its capable regulator, optimal credit regulation, and effective dispute-resolution mechanisms.

The wide range of performance is notable. Top-scoring Peru secured 87 out of a possible 100 points, while lowest-ranked Haiti only managed 16, and there are countries spread rather evenly throughout the whole scoring distribution. This reveals a very wide range of attention to and progress on financial inclusion across the world. This range is borne out by the finding that a third of countries have active national financial inclusion strategies with targets, a third have strategies that remain vague or patchy, and a third have not made any formal commitment to financial inclusion.

Regionally, both Latin America and the Caribbean and East and South Asia score well. While the Middle East and North Africa region had the lowest regional average score, low scores are present among countries in several regions: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Egypt, Yemen, and Haiti.

East and South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are the leading regions in regulation for electronic payments. Kenya and Tanzania in particular stand out for their strong regulation conducive to the growth of mobile payments, and Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka for their effective e-pay infrastructure.

The <em>Microscope</em> found that countries that had strong institutional support – credit reporting, client protection, accounting standards – often performed very well overall, and countries that had weak institutional support performed poorly. Countries at the bottom of the rankings performed especially poorly on measures of institutional support.

The <em>Microscope</em> report, with its country profiles, provides a rich source of information for further research. It also provides a stimulus for policymakers to focus on areas for improvement and to look to the leaders for inspiration and example.

For more detail, including country breakdowns and rankings, you can download the report <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/publications-a-resources/browse-publications/534-global-microscope">here</a>.

<em>Graphic credits: <a href="http://bit.ly/1s9k6T0">'Global Microscope 2014'</a></em>

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2013/12/17/defining-the-path-to-financial-inclusion-in-peru/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defining the Path to Financial Inclusion in Peru</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2013/10/03/global-microscope-finds-the-world-getting-more-microfinance-friendly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Microscope Finds the World Getting More Microfinance-Friendly</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2012/12/20/putting-a-microscope-on-client-protection-in-microfinance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Putting a Microscope on Client Protection in Microfinance</a>

&nbsp;

The 'Global Microscope 2014': Results and Surprises

<em>&gt; Posted by Jeffrey Riecke, Communications Assistant, CFI</em>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_savings_system" target="_blank" rel="attachment wp-att-9915"><img class="alignright  wp-image-9915" style="border:0" alt="" src="http://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/china-post1.jpg" width="315" /></a>Opening a new bank branch is expensive. It requires a substantive up-front investment, and to stay open, the institution has to maintain an ample volume of business. This poses a challenge when trying to reach the financially excluded – many of whom live in relatively remote rural areas, and many of whom don’t have financial needs that draw a high volume of banking transactions. Mobile money is one way to mitigate this cost of bricks and mortar. But it is not the only way.

In pursuing financial inclusion, more and more countries are turning to the post office to offer on-the-spot financial services. Using this preexisting network, financial institutions are teaming up with postal services, outfitting the post offices so that they can conduct financial transactions, and training postal employees. Post office banking is only one variation of agent banking, which is increasingly practiced around the world, turning supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmaceutical retailers, and even lottery outlets into banking outlets.

It was just announced that Airtel – the second largest mobile phone provider in Madagascar – is expanding mobile money services to 170 <a href="http://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-airtel-mobile-money-service-expands-to-post-offices-in-madagascar/" target="_blank">post offices throughout Madagascar</a>. Previously, clients’ deposits, withdrawals, and payments could only be made at Airtel and Bank of Africa locations. Only five percent of people in Madagascar have formal bank accounts.

Across the Indian Ocean, as part of its first financial inclusion plan, Borneo is also set to harness the <a href="http://www.punchng.com/business/money/borno-financial-inclusion-scheme-to-use-post-offices/" target="_blank">power of its post offices</a>. Reasons cited for using post offices instead of bank branches were security and cost. About 87 percent of Borneo’s population live in rural areas, and only 280,000 out of its five million people use formal financial services.

Nigeria’s national financial inclusion strategy involves a roll-out of <a href="http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/financial-inclusion-cbn-bankers-upbeat-about-agent-banking/139721/" target="_blank">agent banking</a>. The central bank released draft regulations for this financial services area a few weeks ago. In 2010, the average distance for a Nigerian to a bank was more than 10 kilometers. In addition to extending financial services to those without access, agent banking would help financial institutions regain customers that they might have lost over the year through the closings of unprofitable bank branches. Nigeria’s financial inclusion strategy, released late last year, seeks to reach 80 percent of the population by 2020.

In executing these post office and agent banking schemes there are unique challenges and risks associated with third-party, off-site agents conducting transactions on behalf of banks and other providers. Among them are client protection elements related to quality of treatment, problem resolution, and data privacy, among others.

<em>Image credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_savings_system" target="_blank">Carpkazu / Wikipedia</a><a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/11858/9780821396346.pdf?sequence=5" target="_blank">
</a></em>

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2012/10/31/35-central-banks-commit-to-financial-inclusion/" target="_blank">35 Central Banks Commit to Financial Inclusion</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2012/11/09/10-things-cgap-got-right-or-wrong-about-financial-access/" target="_blank">10 Things CGAP Got Right or Wrong About Financial Inclusion</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2010/11/08/india%E2%80%99s-branchless-banking-hype-hopes-and-promise/" target="_blank">India's Branchless Banking: Hype, Hopes, and Promise</a>

Post Offices Fill Financial Inclusion Gaps

Loretta Michaels

Jeremy Gray

Sonja Kelly

Bangladesh

East Asia and Pacific

Ecuador

Egypt, Arab Rep.

Ghana

India

Latin America and The Caribbean

Madagascar

Middle East and North Africa

Nigeria

Pakistan

South Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Timor-Leste

Togo

Zimbabwe

Brazil

Jordan

Morocco

Myanmar

Philippines

Thailand

Congo, Dem. Rep.

Bolivia

Cambodia

Chile

Haiti

Kenya

Sri Lanka

Yemen, Rep.

Brunei Darussalam

Digital Payments

Enabling Environment

Mobile Banking

Partnerships

Policy, Regulation and Government Initiatives

Challenges and Crises

Agent Banking

Digital Financial Services

Women

Financial Inclusion Strategy

Blog Post

Report

India is a global leader in financial inclusion. For over a decade, Accion has worked with and learned from India’s innovators, investors, and policymakers to expand economic opportunity for its people and businesses.

Though Nigeria’s government has set ambitious goals for financial inclusion, the majority of its people lack a formal bank account. Accion has worked in the country since 2007 to expand access to financial services.

South Africa is a global hub for fintech innovation. Accion supports and advises South African innovators using technology to help entrepreneurs expand their businesses and families protect their homes around the world.

The majority of Kenyans have mobile money accounts; their activity demonstrates digital financial services’ potential. Accion helps Kenyan innovators harness emerging technologies to create new financial services.

Jeffrey Riecke