Staff Directory

Stefan Staschen

Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Based in Berlin, Stefan Staschen led CGAP's Digital Financial Services Regulation and Supervision project. He has more than 20 years of experience working on financial inclusion, focusing on policy and regulatory issues in microfinance and digital financial services. He has worked with numerous regulators and supervisors primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but also in Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Arab countries.

Before joining CGAP in 2016, Stefan worked for 15 years as an independent consultant on inclusive financial policy and lived for several years each in the United Kingdom, Kenya, and Turkey.

Stefan has a Doctorate degree from the London School of Economics and a Master’s degree in Economics from the Free University of Berlin.

By Stefan Staschen

Blog

Agents for Everyone: Removing Agent Exclusivity in Kenya & Uganda

Mobile money and banking agents blend seamlessly into the daily economic lives of consumers in countries like Kenya and Uganda, offering convenience and expanding access points to financial services. But agent exclusivity clauses can limit customers' choices.
Blog

How Ghana Set Its Rules on Interest Payment on e-Money Accounts

Soon, customers in Ghana will earn interest on their mobile money wallets. How did Ghana do it differently than Tanzania, the first country where a mobile money service paid out interest?
Blog

Use of “Emerging Regulatory Enablers” to Promote DFS

In 10 years of research into regulatory issues surrounding digital financial services, CGAP has maintained a relatively consistent stance on the "basic regulatory enablers" necessary for DFS to flourish. CGAP’s Inclusive Markets Team has now started to examine "emerging regulatory enablers" and their role in DFS.
Blog

Payment Innovations in Turkey: Not (Yet) Reaching the Unbanked

Innovations on payment systems in Turkey have the potential to move beyond the current reach of bank accounts and cards.
Blog

Supervisor’s Experience with Expanding Agent Networks: 4 Insights

As agent networks expand, they bring great opportunity by facilitating cutting edge digital financial products. But with this expansion comes risk and serious implications for financial supervision.