Recent Blogs
Mapping Credit Gender Gaps With Regulatory Data in Rwanda
Using disaggregated data—by gender, age, and location—can improve financial inclusion. Using CGAP's pilot with NBR in Rwanda as an example, we show how segmented insights help regulators and providers identify gaps, reduce bias, and better serve vulnerable groups.
How Providers Can Serve Micro-Merchants Sustainably
This blog discusses why digital merchant payments for micro- and rural merchants in sub-Saharan Africa struggle to be financially sustainable—and what providers, regulators, and development partners can do to fix that.
Banking on Carbon: Inclusive Finance in Colombia
In Colombia, CGAP, Karbon-X, and Bancamía are exploring how inclusive financial services can support forest conservation and community impact. Learn how savings, loans, and digital payments can help households to build resilience without relying on deforestation.
The New DNA of Innovation-Ready Financial Regulation
How do modern regulators keep up with rapid innovation? By rebuilding their regulatory DNA: clear vision, adaptive policy, digital infrastructure, and data-driven SupTech. Here, we break down the strands shaping the future of financial regulation.
Financial Health: Driving Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean
Account ownership in LAC has surged, but true progress means translating access into financial health. Banks can lead by using technology to build trust, design customer-first solutions, and expand inclusive digital ecosystems.
Innovation Requires New Skills – Are Regulators Hiring Accordingly?
Regulating innovation requires regulators to acquire new skillsets, most urgently around data and cybersecurity. Are they hiring experts in those fields? New CGAP analysis looking at leading innovative authorities provides some answers.
Six Ways Open Finance Can Drive Competition and Inclusion
Open finance can make financial markets more inclusive and competitive, but only if designed intentionally. CGAP highlights six policy levers to ensure it benefits low-income and underserved people.
From Access to Impact: It’s Time to Realize the Full Promise of Financial Inclusion
Part of CGAP’s new series on the World Bank’s Global Findex 2025, we draw from CGAP's and Accion's work to highlight six opportunities that need to be prioritized to unlock a golden opportunity for embracing growing digitization to shift financial inclusion from access to impact.
Banking on Progress: Why the Next Chapter of Financial Inclusion is so Important
New data from the World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 reveals significant progress on financial inclusion. But while much has been achieved, challenges remain and new solutions are needed to help reach the last mile and to unlock the power of financial services for development.
How Digitization Is Disrupting Collateral-Based Lending
Data is upending traditional lending models and can broaden access to finance.
AI and Responsible Finance: A Double-Edged Sword
Artificial Intelligence can transform financial inclusion and digital financial services, but it can also increase consumer risks like fraud, data misuse, and lack of transparency.
Finance Meets AI: Considerations for Public Authorities
How can public authorities support the financial sector to harness the power of AI while ensuring it operates within safe and ethical boundaries? Here, we propose three key considerations that could enable the responsible use of AI in finance.
Beyond the Balance Sheet: How Data is Rewriting the Investment Playbook
Inclusive credit fintechs can help narrow the financial inclusion gap—but their path is challenging. New data-driven asset managers are stepping in with transaction-based financing, offering the capital and credibility fintechs need to scale responsibly.
Avanti’s Digital Edge: Winning for Customers, Partners, and Growth
Avanti Finance leverages technology and partnerships to provide affordable, accessible financial services to low-income households in India, focusing on women. Their digital processes enhance efficiency, scalability, and customer experience.
Key Regulatory Developments for AI in Finance
AI is not a novel concept in finance; so, what is driving renewed interest in addressing regulatory gaps around the technology? CGAP desk research covering more than 100 jurisdictions identified five key global developments in AI regulation.
