Financial inclusion can help promote development. Inclusive financial systems allow people to invest in their education and health, save for retirement, capitalize on business opportunities, and confront shocks. ... See More + In the Europe and Central Asia region, there is great variation in financial inclusion. In the euro area, most adults already own an account. Account ownership -- which is the first step of entry into the formal financial system has increased in the developing countries in the region, to 65 percent of the adult population from 45 percent in 2011. Tajikistan, Armenia, Moldova, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Georgia are among the countries that have seen the greatest increases globally, despite starting from a very low base. These experiences underline the potential role of digital payments in driving financial inclusion. Nevertheless, almost 30 percent of unbanked adults report lack of trust in banks as a barrier, which is nearly double the developing country average. And in some countries, gender and income gaps in account ownership remain significant. For example, the gender gap is close to 30 percentage points in Turkey, which is three times the average gap in developing countries. And in Romania, the gap between richest 60 percent of the population and poorest 40 percent is 33 percentage points, which is more than twice the average gap in developing countries. But there are many opportunities to increase account ownership. Over 80 percent of the unbanked have a mobile phone, and simply moving public sector pension payments into accounts would reduce the number of unbanked adults in the region by up to 20 million, including 8 million in the Russian Federation alone. Given the heterogeneity of experiences, there are ample opportunities for countries in the region to learn from each other, which lays out a rich research and operational agenda going forward.  See Less -

Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS8830 Document Date: APR 24, 2019

Author: Demirguc-Kunt,Asli; Hu,Bingjie; Klapper,Leora Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Implementation Status and Results Report Report No.: ISR36010 Document Date: MAR 19, 2019

Author: Anan,Kosuke Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP18582 Document Date: MAR 18, 2019

Author: Tapugou Falefou Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Implementation Status and Results Report Report No.: ISR35757 Document Date: MAR 13, 2019

Author: Achomuma,Alphonsus Nji T Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Project Paper Report No.: RES32055 Document Date: MAR 07, 2019

Author: Bezzina,Jerome Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Project Information and Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet Report No.: PIDISDSA25717 Document Date: FEB 20, 2019

Author: Rostom,Ahmed Mohamed Tawfick Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Auditing Document Report No.: AUD0018954 Document Date: JAN 27, 2019

Author: Nyazvigo,Macdonald Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Auditing Document Report No.: AUD0018972 Document Date: JAN 27, 2019

Author: Nyazvigo,Macdonald Disclosure Status: Disclosed

For many low-income households in the developing world, incomes are highly variable and uncertain. High up-front costs combined with irregular incomes result in unequal access to water, sanitation, and irrigation. ... See More + Households typically can, and should, cover the costs of accessing water resources, but they cannot do this without help. Financial inclusion can help households access water resources. Financial inclusion focuses on ensuring everyone has access to useful and affordable financial products and services, including transactions, payments, savings, credit, and insurance. The emerging field of financial technology (fintech) can help address barriers to financial inclusion in the water sector while potentially reducing or eliminating the need for subsidy. Fintech solutions already address some of the needs of developing-nation households—applications include payments and mobile money, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) models, insurance technology (insurtech), and virtual banks. This paper explores how fintech can support expansion of market-based solutions for water, sanitation, and irrigation, identifying several use cases where fintech is already being used to address financial inclusion and access to water. In addition to ways that fintech can help households access water supply and sanitation services, the paper also examines how fintech can help water utilities serve low-income customers more effectively and assist small-scale service providers in growing their businesses.  See Less -

Document Type: Working Paper Report No.: 135340 Document Date: JAN 01, 2019

Author: Ikeda,Jonathan Kano; Liffiton,Kenneth Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Project Information and Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet Report No.: PIDISDSC25560 Document Date: DEC 10, 2018

Author: Rostom,Ahmed Mohamed Tawfick Disclosure Status: Disclosed