Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This paper examines the role of Fintech in financial inclusion. Using Global Findex data and emerging fintech indicators, we find that Fintech has a higher positive correlation with digital financial inclusion than traditional measures of financial inclusion. In the second stage of our empirical investigation, we examine the key factors that are correlated with the Fletcher School’s three digital divide – gender divide, class (rich-poor) divide and rural divide. The results indicate that greater use of fintech is significantly associated with a narrowing of the class divide and rural divide but there was no impact on the gender divide. These findings imply that Fintech alone may not be sufficient to close the gender gap in access to financial services. Fintech development may need to be complemented with targeted policy initiatives aimed at addressing the gender gap directly, and at changing attitudes and social norms across demographics.

Macroeconomics --- Economics: General --- Finance: General --- Industries: Financial Services --- Gender Studies --- Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy --- Monetary Systems --- Standards --- Regimes --- Government and the Monetary System --- Payment Systems --- Economics of Gender --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Economic & financial crises & disasters --- Economics of specific sectors --- Finance --- Computer applications in industry & technology --- Social discrimination & equal treatment --- Financial inclusion --- Financial markets --- Fintech --- Technology --- Digital financial services --- Gender inequality --- Gender --- Mobile banking --- Currency crises --- Informal sector --- Economics --- Financial services industry --- Technological innovations --- Sex discrimination --- Banks and banking, Mobile --- South Africa

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Financial inclusion can increase economic growth and productivity and reduce poverty and inequality by helping people and firms—particularly SMEs—to save and invest, smooth consumption, and better manage financial risks. This paper highlights Niger’s lag compared to other WAEMU countries in terms of access to and use of formal financial services, including for women and youth, and underscores key demand and supply side challenges to financial inclusion as well as structural impediments. It lays out key priorities for Niger to harness the potential of greater financial inclusion to support the country’s development agenda, including efforts to tackle low financial literacy, promote digitization, and address informality.

Money and Monetary Policy --- International Economics --- Industries: Financial Services --- Finance: General --- Demography --- Monetary Policy --- International Agreements and Observance --- International Organizations --- Banks --- Depository Institutions --- Micro Finance Institutions --- Mortgages --- Economic Development: Financial Markets --- Saving and Capital Investment --- Corporate Finance and Governance --- Financial Literacy --- Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy --- Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation --- Monetary Systems --- Standards --- Regimes --- Government and the Monetary System --- Payment Systems --- Demographic Economics: General --- Monetary economics --- International institutions --- Finance --- Population & demography --- Distributed ledgers --- Monetary policy --- International organization --- Financial inclusion --- Financial markets --- Financial services --- Population and demographics --- Digital financial services --- Technology --- Digital currencies --- International agencies --- Financial services industry --- Technological innovations --- Population --- Niger

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Lenders can exploit households' payment data to infer their creditworthiness. When households value privacy, they then face a tradeoff between protecting such privacy and credit conditions. We study how the introduction of an informationally more intrusive digital payment vehicle affects households' cash use, credit access, and welfare. A tech monopolist controls the intrusiveness of the new payment method and manipulates information asymmetries among households and oligopolistic banks to extract data contracts that are more lucrative than lending on its own. The laissez-faire equilibrium entails a digital payment vehicle that is more intrusive than socially optimal, providing a rationale for regulation.

Macroeconomics --- Economics: General --- Industries: Financial Services --- Money and Monetary Policy --- Databases --- Asymmetric and Private Information --- Macroeconomics: Consumption --- Saving --- Wealth --- Banks --- Depository Institutions --- Micro Finance Institutions --- Mortgages --- Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation --- Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit: General --- Monetary Systems --- Standards --- Regimes --- Government and the Monetary System --- Payment Systems --- Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology --- Computer Programs: General --- Economic & financial crises & disasters --- Economics of specific sectors --- Finance --- Monetary economics --- Data capture & analysis --- Credit --- Money --- Digital financial services --- Technology --- Loans --- Financial institutions --- Consumer credit --- Data collection --- Economic and financial statistics --- Currency crises --- Informal sector --- Economics --- Financial services industry --- Technological innovations --- Economic statistics

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Financial inclusion can increase economic growth and productivity and reduce poverty and inequality by helping people and firms—particularly SMEs—to save and invest, smooth consumption, and better manage financial risks. This paper highlights Niger’s lag compared to other WAEMU countries in terms of access to and use of formal financial services, including for women and youth, and underscores key demand and supply side challenges to financial inclusion as well as structural impediments. It lays out key priorities for Niger to harness the potential of greater financial inclusion to support the country’s development agenda, including efforts to tackle low financial literacy, promote digitization, and address informality.

Niger --- Money and Monetary Policy --- International Economics --- Industries: Financial Services --- Finance: General --- Demography --- Monetary Policy --- International Agreements and Observance --- International Organizations --- Banks --- Depository Institutions --- Micro Finance Institutions --- Mortgages --- Economic Development: Financial Markets --- Saving and Capital Investment --- Corporate Finance and Governance --- Financial Literacy --- Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy --- Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation --- Monetary Systems --- Standards --- Regimes --- Government and the Monetary System --- Payment Systems --- Demographic Economics: General --- Monetary economics --- International institutions --- Finance --- Population & demography --- Distributed ledgers --- Monetary policy --- International organization --- Financial inclusion --- Financial markets --- Financial services --- Population and demographics --- Digital financial services --- Technology --- Digital currencies --- International agencies --- Financial services industry --- Technological innovations --- Population

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The COVID-19 shock has underscored the importance of digital tools for enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of social protection systems. Cross-country evidence suggests that digital IDs linked with bank and/or mobile money accounts can improve the delivery of social protection programs and better reach eligible beneficiaries. Using data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey, we present micro simulations on the welfare gains of digital social protection during the pandemic. While digitalization offers opportunities, potential risks would need to be carefully managed. Vietnam is advancing on individual pieces of the digitalization puzzle, including full digital IDs and mobile money, and the next step is to put these pieces together.

Vietnam --- Macroeconomics --- Economics: General --- Industries: Financial Services --- Labor --- Diseases: Contagious --- Industries: Information Technololgy --- Simulation Methods --- Unemployment Insurance --- Severance Pay --- Plant Closings --- Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household --- Comparative Studies of Countries --- Monetary Systems --- Standards --- Regimes --- Government and the Monetary System --- Payment Systems --- Employment --- Unemployment --- Wages --- Intergenerational Income Distribution --- Aggregate Human Capital --- Aggregate Labor Productivity --- Aggregate Factor Income Distribution --- Health Behavior --- Technological Change: Choices and Consequences --- Diffusion Processes --- Economic & financial crises & disasters --- Economics of specific sectors --- Financial technology (fintech) --- Finance --- Labour --- income economics --- Infectious & contagious diseases --- Mobile banking --- Technology --- Digital financial services --- Informal employment --- Income --- National accounts --- COVID-19 --- Health --- Currency crises --- Informal sector --- Economics --- Banks and banking, Mobile --- Financial services industry --- Technological innovations --- Economic theory --- Communicable diseases