World Bank Group, ITU and CPMI launch ‘Financial Inclusion Global Initiative’

The World Bank Group, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a new global programme to advance research in digital finance and accelerate digital financial inclusion in developing countries: the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative.

The program is composed of two different but complementary work streams: operational and knowledge. The operational work stream supports governments in improving access to financial services and digital financial inclusion for a large number of people. The knowledge work stream aims to advance research and develop policy recommendations in three key areas of digital finance: security of ICT infrastructure and trust in digital financial services, digital IDs for financial services, and acceptance and use of e-payments by micro and small-scale merchants and their customers.

The three-year programme focuses on three developing countries: China, Egypt and Mexico. They were chosen based on potential for country programmes, level of national government and private-sector commitment to financial inclusion, number of people that could be reached through digital financial services, and potential for reforms to encourage innovation and digital technologies use.

"An estimated two billion adults are still without access to a bank account, and yet some 1.6 billion of them have access to a mobile phone, creating the potential for e-finance access," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. "We are excited to work with ITU and CPMI on this new global initiative that will enable our partner countries to better harness the potential of digital technologies for financial inclusion, and to manage associated risks," said Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Senior Director for the Finance and Markets Global Practice, World Bank Group.

Source: World Bank