World Bank Group Launches Initiative to Help Local Financial Institutions Expand Digital Payments in Emerging Markets

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 9, 2026 — The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group focused on the private sector, has launched a risk-sharing initiative to help banks, fintechs, and other financial institutions in emerging markets expand access to digital payments for consumers and small businesses.

In some of these markets, financial institutions are constrained by financial requirements that can limit their ability to participate in global payment ecosystems, leaving millions of people and local merchants reliant on cash and cut off from the convenience, safety, and efficiency digital payments can provide.

The new IFC initiative addresses this gap directly, initially providing up to $700 million in guarantees to cover a portion of the credit settlement risk, thus enabling more institutions to offer innovative and reliable digital payment services to more customers, including small business owners, women entrepreneurs, and people historically shut out of the formal financial system.

“Expanding digital payments in emerging markets is one of the most powerful tools to create jobs and bring people into the formal economy,” said IFC's Managing Director Makhtar Diop. “When a small business owner or woman entrepreneur accepts a card payment, it opens the door to more customers, more revenue, and a foothold in the digital economy. Yet too many banks and fintechs face financial requirements that limit their ability to expand digital payment services. This initiative changes that, helping businesses expand, create jobs, and bring digital payment services to those who have been left behind.”

Ultimately, the initiative is expected to increase competition and improve the quality and accessibility of payment services. IFC estimates that financial institutions participating in the initiative will see digital payments increase by about $280 billion. IFC expects that participating institutions will issue 360 million more cards and see the number of active users grow by 90 million, including 39 million women.