Week of June 9, 2014

1. Financial Services:  An audit study of financial institutions in peri-urban Mexico found staff voluntarily provides little information about avoidable fees and clients are almost never offered the cheapest product. The World Bank

2. US Income Inequality: "'Economic despair' provides a decisive blow to the nation’s mythical identity as the land of opportunity: for many children at the bottom, it suggests, opportunity is not just out of reach. It is inconceivable." The New York Times 

3. Digital Payments: 10 days in Kenya. No cash. 1 mobile phone. Business Week

4. Financial Inclusion:  Ronald Brownstien's first lesson from "navigating the archipelago of check cashers, payday lenders, and discount store money desks"? It’s expensive to be poor. National Journal

5. Mobile Money: Three major telecoms in Tanzania announced the launch of the first interoperable mobile money service in Africa, allowing users to send and receive funds across networks. Business Daily Africa