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The joint infoDev and CGAP workshop on “Expanding Financial Services to the Poor: The Role of ICT”, presented how emerging ICT-enabled delivery channels for financial services are deployed, including the various business models and technologies, the primary impediments to expanding these services and how the development community can address some of these impediments.

The proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), such as mobile phones and point-of-sale (POS) devices in developing countries has the potential to bring a wide range of financial services to an entirely new customer base.  In many developing countries, particularly in rural areas, access to financial services is limited. A large proportion of the population are excluded from formal banking systems and make payments entirely using cash, which is far less secure and flexible than electronic payment mechanisms.   However, in the Philippines, 3.5 million people are using a service that allows them to transfer money, both nationally and internationally, over the two major mobile networks operated by SMART Communications and Globe Telecom.  In Brazil, large banks use POS terminals at retail outlets across the country to deliver bill payments, savings, credit, insurance, and money transfer products to nearly 10 million previously unbanked customers.

The joint infoDev and CGAP workshop on “Expanding Financial Services to the Poor: The Role of ICT”, aimed to present how these emerging delivery channels are deployed, including the various business models and technologies.  In addition, the workshop highlighted the key impediments to expanding these services and fostered discussion among participants on how the development community can address some of these impediments.