A new report by Oxford Economics and fintech startup Juvo says mobile network operators could help solve the financial identity...
A report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions finds that financial institutions prioritize transparency and inclusion but face challenges.
Today, the University of Michigan's "Next Billion" initiative writes about Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation research into financial inclusion and fintech; part of the research addresses payment aggregators that use APIs to connect buyers, commercial enterprises and other clearinghouses; the research claims that creating truly open APIs, which don't require complex legal agreements or technical integrations between parties, would be of great benefit to the financial ecosystem, including enhanced innovation and reduced transaction costs; a case study about Selcom, an African payment aggregator, highlights six areas suitable for near-term open API development: payment initiation (including via mobile wallets and online chatbots), check payment status, retrieving account history, easily cancelling a payment and a set of user interface foundation code that can be white-labelled by any customer-facing innovator. Source
Financial inclusion is a factor considered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in all of its banking charters; American Banker discusses how the fintech charter's financial inclusion provisions compare to the Community Reinvestment Act requirements for banks; the new fintech charter would require fintechs to detail how they plan to promote financial inclusion with accountability from the OCC for those goals and more direct OCC enforcement actions for fintech companies. Source
The number of fintechs operating in Mexico has grown consistently. Progress in financial inclusion, however, has been far less explosive.
One of the major themes throughout the two-day event was financial inclusion and how technology can accelerate that.
Fintech innovation is not only being fueled by faster, lower cost alternatives but also by the potential to reach a broader market demographic; while financial inclusion is a current market focus, many lenders have positioned their underwriting for the extreme opposite; American Banker's Penny Crosman analyzes both market extremes; notes the prevalence of current underwriting systems that integrate college degrees attained as a factor for credit approval resulting in a greater number of loans to elitist borrowers; identifies potential reform that could infuse financial inclusion mandates for all fintech companies beginning with provisions in the OCC's fintech charter that require financial inclusion considerations and following with further direction from the CFPB who is currently studying the use of alternative credit data for more inclusive borrowing; if financial inclusion mandates do become requirements it could provide even more momentum for the growing number of inclusive credit providers but also significantly upend a majority of the market's underwriting schemes which are based on algorithmic analysis with variables targeting socioeconomically elite borrowers. Source
Fintech app Fresh EBT provides food stamp recipients the ability to check their balances in the app; they are becoming...
Industries across the country are getting a much needed reminder about their lack of progress when it comes to diversity;...
One of the biggest benefits presented by fintechs is their ability to serve customers big banks normally would ignore; with...