Topics Inclusive finance

The opportunities and challenges of digitizing government-to-person payments

This paper reviews evidence on the benefits and challenges faced by governments migrating from cash to digital (electronic) government-to-person (G2P) payments. When supported by an appropriate consumer financial protection framework, digital payments enable confidential and convenient financial services, which can…

Reducing the shadow economy through electronic payments

This report analyses the shadow economy in eight Central and Southern European countries. It estimates the potential impact of various regulations that, by replacing cash with electronic payments, or by increasing the share of registered consumer cash transactions, may lead…

Garment Worker Diaries

The Garment Worker Diaries, an initiative currently led by Microfinance Opportunities in collaboration with SANEM in Bangladesh, collects data on the work hours, income, expenses, and financial tool use of workers in the global apparel and textile supply chain in…

Credit apartheid, migrants, mines and money

Various agents – rural patriarchs, traders, government authorities, appliance retailers – have used techniques to keep wages beyond migrants’ control. Paradoxically, similar techniques have, on occasion, been eagerly embraced by migrants themselves, who know that these resources will need to…

The ethics of payments: Paper, plastic, or bitcoin?

Individuals and businesses make numerous payments every day. They sometimes have choices about what forms of payment to make or accept, and at other times are effectively forced to use a particular form. Often there is an asymmetric power relationship…