1. Impact Evaluations: Most impact evaluations look at interventions to improve the lives of the poor, but are they actually making poor people’s lives better? The World Bank - Development Impact
2. Financial Inclusion: Elisabeth Rhyne reminds us the recipe for digital financial inclusion (technology + efficient delivery models + effective regulation) is easier said then done, even when a country has all of the "ingredients" in place. Center for Financial Inclusion
3. Retail Banking: Walmart announced it now offers customers a low-cost checking account product through a partnership with GoGreen. The new "GoBank" accounts have no overdraft fees or minimum balance requirements. TechCrunch
Week of September 15, 2014
1. Credit: In 2013, 4 million workers, or about 3% of all employees, had wages garnished for a consumer debt in 2013 - sometimes at rates of up to 25% per paycheck. ProPublica
2. Poverty in the US: The poverty rate in the US dropped for the first time since 2006, but the number of Americans living in poverty remains the same. US Census Bureau
3. Microfinance: MFIs in West Africa respond to Ebola outbreak. While some are suspending operations, others are granting loan forgiveness, or spreading preventive information to their communities. CFI
Week of September 8, 2014
1. Payments: Will Apple's new payments software usher in the digital wallet revolution? The New York Times
2. Microcredit: The opening session of the 2014 Microcredit Summit dared to ask why microloan prices—and profits—are so high in Mexico. NextBillion
3. India: As of 2012, 680 million Indians lack the means to meet basic needs - more than 2.5 times the population below the official poverty line. McKinsey & Company
Read MoreWeek of September 1, 2014
1. Sustainable Development Goals: FAI affiliate Michael Clemens reacts to the inclusion of migration policy in the latest draft of the UN's SDGs... Center for Global Development
2. Immigration: ...while David Roodman evaluates the domestic economic impact of migration for receiving countries. David Roodman
3. Payments: Together with MasterCard, Nigeria began the pilot phase of its new eID program, which combines biometric-based identification with an electronic payment system. AllAfrica
Read MoreWeek of August 25, 2014
1. Digital Payments: "Digitizing government payments can serve as a catalyst, spurring further innovation in this space and paving the way for more involvement by private sector actors and the international community." The World Bank - Let's Talk Development
2. Postal Banking: While the US continues to debate the impact of postal banking, a new paper reviews how these services evolved in the developing world. University of Freiburg
3. Savings: Airtel Uganda, in conjunction with Grameen Foundation, has developed a service that will allow savings groups to store their group’s cash as mobile money. Grameen Foundation
Week of August 18, 2014
1. Savings: Will increased access to formal savings accounts in India translate to greater financial inclusion? Live Mint
2. Remittances: FAI's Timothy Ogden spoke with The New York Times' editorial board about some of the macro challenges of remittance systems and the role that the World Bank could play in alleviating the costs and burdens of anti-money laundering regulations. The New York Times
3. Financial Diaries: A financial diaries project in Kenya provides new insights into how low-income Kenyans use and think about their money. FSD Kenya
Week of August 11, 2014
1. Cash Transfers: Conditional cash transfers in the US encounter ridicule and skepticism, but this "foreign import" for the war on poverty has promise. Politico
2. Payday Lending: A new app allows hourly workers to immediately access wages they’ve already earned, without having to wait for their employer’s standard pay cycle or relying on payday lenders for quick cash. Wired
3. Mobile Banking: How can regulatory “best practices” in digital financial services move away from focusing on enabling participation in the market to fostering competition? Ignacio Mas outlines a few strategies. The World Bank - All About Finance
Read MoreWeek of August 4, 2014
1. Retail Banking: Banks may continue to go digital but this doesn’t mean the brick and mortar branch is disappearing. Customers who use mobile and online banking more than once a week are over 60% more likely to be active retail-branch users than those who do not. McKinsey&Company
2. Labor Trends: The increasingly common practice of scheduling workers' shifts just before they begin can wreak havoc on the financial and personal lives of many low-wage workers, leading to income volatility and difficulty in arranging childcare. Al Jazeera America
3. Banking Transparency: "Low-income consumers want to know not just what the prices are, but in some ways, how banks’ decisions are made. Banks’ failure to communicate a rationale makes clients feel cheated...Clients who feel cheated, often feel justified in 'cheating back.'" Center for Financial Inclusion
Read MoreWeek of July 28, 2014
1. Language of Money: The nuances of financial jargon provide clarity in conversation, but exclude many. The New Yorker
2. Biometric Identification: Many countries, including India and Nigeria, continue to roll out biometric identity cards which can improve access to financial services. Alliance for Financial Inclusion
3. Islamic Microfinance: How can Sharia-compliant microfinance help bring financial tools to the 650 million Muslims living on less than $2 a day? The World Bank
Read MoreWeek of July 21, 2014
1. Microcredit: Easing liquidity constraints of smallholder farmers during the hungry season may help break the cycle of inadequate crop yields and low-wage off-labor farm work by helping to smooth consumption (with the added bonus of raising local wages!). Jobs Knowledge Platform
2. African Financial Markets: African banks continue to expand their regional footprints, which creates an interesting policy balancing act - how to reap the benefits of financial integration while protecting systems against "cross-border contagion and fragility." The World Bank: All About Finance Blog
3. Income Distributions: Africa’s middle class doubled in the last 30 years - but the poor and rich classes grew as well, so income distributions have gone largely unchanged. The New York Times
Read More