Financial inclusion is a must in a digital world as it allows access to all aspects of the digital economy (payment, education, health, etc.). Its overarching and cross-cutting nature has been recognized by leaders of the G20 Summit who included it as one of the main pillars for the global development agenda.
Globally, more than 2.5 billion adults, mostly in developing economies, are considered “financially excluded” as they do not access to basic financial services such as formal bank account at a financial institution and operate almost entirely in cash. Lack or limited access to financial services represents a barrier to socio-economic development in particular for developing countries. However, some 1.6 billion people have mobile phones in developing countries. Digital Financial Services could thus be a game changer for people of limited income and an enabler for financial inclusion in developing countries.
ITU has recently launched a Focus Group on Digital Financial Services which acts as a multistakeholder platform to discuss about regulatory and policy issues as well as innovations in digital finance and financial inclusion that may benefit from standardization. The Focus Group is chaired by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The main objective of this session will be to present the challenges facing digital financial service providers in developing world in providing such services and will also discuss how the work of the ITU Focus Group Digital Financial Services aim to overcome some of these challenges.
In particular, the following questions will be discussed:
- What kinds of digital financial services are available?
- What are the main challenges facing operators today?
- What are the technology trends in digital financial services over the coming years and how the role of various stakeholders in this ecosystem will evolve
- What is the roadmap to interoperability for digital financial services and what aspects need to be considered by both the ICT and financial services regulators
- What are the safeguards required to protect consumers?