Financial Institutions  Priorities  Digital Finance

Digital Finance

A FINCA client in the Democratic Republic of Congo. © IFC


IFC supports the development of innovative and sustainable financial services. Significant improvements in mobile phone, card, internet, and other technologies are resulting in new, innovative business models that deliver financial services at lower prices and reach more people.

Evidence has shown that even very poor people save small amounts, send and receive money from relatives, pay bills and school fees, and borrow from suppliers and others to meet obligations or take advantage of financial opportunities even in the absence of bank access. To satisfy their needs, most low-income people end up using informal mechanisms that are often insecure, unsafe, inefficient, and more costly than necessary.

IFC's goal is to increase the reach and breadth of financial services to the world’s un- and underbanked on a massive scale, while simultaneously reducing the cost to serve by fostering and supporting innovative and sustainable financial services providers.


To reach that, we support:

  • Greenfield payment services providers,

  • Financial intermediaries that seek to develop mobile channels,

  • Recently-launched ventures that are attempting to reach viable scale, and

  • More established service providers that wish to extend their reach and expand product range.

 

Digital Finance Contacts

Click here for the list of Digital Finance Contacts

EXAMPLES OF what we do

IFC IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC BUILDING DIGITAL FINANCE INFRASTRUCTURE

The IFC has developed a comprehensive mobile banking program which aims to catalyze transformational impact across the Pacific region by scaling up support to three leading regional banks including BSP and ANZ.

Since, IFC has been working with ANZ and BSP to increase access to final services and strengthen financial literacy areas among existing and potential clients, beyond main urban centers in the Solomon Islands. This case study examines the program and its impact.

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Mobile Banking in Papua New Guinea
IFC Business Edge Training Program
IFC’s Mobile Money Toolkit

IFC's Mobile Money Toolkit is a combination of both the best publicly available information and original content and newly created materials. It includes documents available from CGAP, USAID, the World Bank, GSMA, and other organizations that are doing research in the realm of mobile money. Each part contains a number of documents or tools, some specifically designed for this toolkit, others collected from the public domain.

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IFC's Partnership for Financial Inclusion

The Partnership for Financial Inclusion is a $37.4 million joint initiative of IFC and The MasterCard Foundation to expand microfinance and advance digital financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa. The seven-year program was launched in January 2012, and works with microfinance institutions, banks and mobile network operators across the African continent to develop and test innovative business models for financial inclusion. The Partnership also pursues an extensive research and learning agenda, harnessing and sharing insights gained in program projects for the industry and the public good. As such, the program aims to have an impact even beyond direct projects to help achieve universal financial access by 2020.

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