East asia pacific south asia

Finclusion to Fintech: Fintech Product Development for Low-Income Markets

The paper presents detailed insights from 15 years of financial inclusion research to highlight the importance of fintech, including proposing product development ideas for Fintech players, to better serve developing world market.

Bringing E-money to the Poor: Successes and Failures

This report examines the successful lessons from Kenya, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Thailand case studies of “gazelles", that leapt from limitation to innovation by successfully enabling the deployment of e-money technology.

China Breakthroughs: Pay it forward on cashless society

China cashing out as mobile payment soars (The Business Times)

China cashing out as mobile payment soars (AFP)

A handbook on regional integration in Africa: Towards Agenda 2063

The Handbook advices and informs on current dynamics, opportunities, challenges and policy options for Africa’s regional integration agenda.

Accelerating Financial Inclusion in South-East Asia with Digital Finance

Focussing on women, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the paper highlights that digital financial solutions could play a significant part in closing gaps in financial inclusion and povides insights from Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, and Myanmar.

UN study: Digitization of Kenyan farmer payments helps tackle poverty

One Acre Fund cut payment losses and collection costs by over 80 percent, boosting farmers’ satisfaction and economic opportunity…

Alipay, WeChat Near $3 Trillion

UN Report: Social Network Payments Now Reach Nearly US$3 Trillion in China

Social Networks, e-Commerce Platforms, and the Growth of Digital Payment Ecosystems in China: What it Means for Other Countries

This report examines two of China’s most far-reaching applications – WeChat and Alipay – and explores their role in the development of one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated digital payments ecosystems.

UN report: Social network payments now reach nearly US $3 trillion in China

Payments on messaging and e-commerce platforms set to increase China’s GDP by $236 billion by 2025, unlocking new economic opportunities for people and small businesses…

Exchanging notes on one of the biggest ‘digital’ conditional cash transfer programs

Our Peer-Exchange to Brazil was part of the Alliance’s response to the knowledge needs of member countries

Digitizing Wage Payments in Bangladesh’s Garment Production Sector

This report is the first of its kind to document key data points on the costs and benefits of wage digitization from a factory perspective.

Why Women Workers and Managers Prefer Electronic Wage Payments in Bangladesh

Payday can be an ordeal for women garment workers in Bangladesh. Often, they must wait in long lines, carry wads of cash through crowded streets, or encounter a mother-in-law demanding money…

Mobile payments and financial inclusion: Kenya, Brazil, and India as Case Studies

This paper considers the impact of the regulatory environment on mobile payments as a channel for delivering inclusive financial services using Kenya, Brazil and India as case studies.

Microfinance and Poverty Reduction: Is Social Protection the Missing Link?

The paper highlights that existing literature largely overlooks recent developments in the arena of social protection that are impacting financial needs of the poor and discusses some empirical findings from three Indian states.

Governance of Social Protection for Informal Sector Workers in Asia

This report covers overview and constraints of setting up a social protection system for informal workers in Asia. It also includes interesting case studies of some Asian countries including Bangladesh, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

Liberian Teacher ePayments: Stepping Stones to Inclusion

This blog, focussing on case of Liberia, discusses how digital payments are improving government service delivery and leading to higher take-home pay and improved transparency.

Country Diagnostic: Bangladesh

This Diagnostic Report shows Bangladesh is making significant strides toward a digital economy, and outlines specific policy measures that can underpin further digitization of payments into the future.