Thread by @ideafaktory

Thread: FinancialServices Access
This has been a persistent subject as a market opportunity since I started at @MasterCard in 2001. Then @Citi & @AmericanExpress. Legacy financial services & #payments #technology were simply insufficient to service those markets economically.
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https://twitter.com/ValaAfshar/status/1051224180560199681

Recently, companies like mPesa (Africa) showed that this can be done. Especially, in countries where you're building a completely new infrastructure, not relying on (or mandated to integrate with) legacy payment systems. Those carry onerous compliance & processing costs.
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With almost full smartphone saturation, some #fintech players like Simple, even @Square's Cash & @Paypal's @Venmo apps, are able to get to more people. Others like Green Dot prepaid & payday lenders go deeper into servicing this population, but at controversially high fees.
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While access to #financialservices technology is important, especially as it gets smarter & more digital, it remains a second order problem. The first is the #poverty itself. While overall rates have dropped, the #'s remain high. Politically, few address root causes.
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Fact is, people need money before ways to transact.
Abroad, microlenders like @Kiva help, so do job training/vocational/apprenticeship/mentoring programs & incentives, public assistance incentives (Brazil) & pro-nuclear family policies a la Brookings.

https://twitter.com/ideafaktory/status/1043700500871499777

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