Thread by @usnehal

This is definitely a problem. There are many divides. Digital divide. Then not everyone had a credit card. Not everyone has a bank account.

https://twitter.com/ghostinmypocket/status/1345129288664813569

22% of Americans are unbanked or underbanked.

“The events of recent months relating to COVID-19 ..have brought increased attention to the digital divide...an economy that runs on the assumption that individuals have full access to traditional banking”

forbes.com/advisor/bankin…

“the unbanked and underbanked ..less education or to be in a racial or ethnic minority group, according to the Fed data. Put all of these characteristics together.. those who are unbanked and underbanked... who may have historically felt shut out of traditional banking”

“..costs of alternative financial services ..add up to a much steeper expense over time. According to the Financial Health Network, unbanked and underbanked Americans spent $189 billion in fees and interest on financial products in 2018”

= cost of poverty

“The biggest issue w/ using prepaid cards, however, is that, unlike credit cards, they do nothing to help their users build and maintain a credit history...credit history..accessed by employers, landlords, utility companies and insurers in making decisions on whom to hire, rent”

A viewpoint on whether #cryptocurrency & #blockchain can be the answer for “banking the unbanked”

forbes.com/sites/yayafanu…

Key parts here. Issues are lack of income which means they are unbanked as undermarketed as not an “attractive” market.

We need to raise incomes. How to store, access, transfer, invest money is less an issue.

An alternate view from @Deloitte @DeloitteDigital

www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/De…

#Blockchain definitely has a lot of potential, including in the developing world, in regards to security, anti-corruption, transparency, trust.

Hard to believe adults steal lunch from low income kids, but...

...actually nothing surprises me

weforum.org/agenda/2019/05…

But that is a different issue from being unbanked/underbanked

This is 10 years old, from FDIC, but many issues remain relevant

The trust issue is true of banks or thinks like #COVID19 #vaccine. Boils down to trust in a system that historically excluded

fdic.gov/about/comein/K…

But before we even get to what the solutions are for the “underbanked” - do we even agree on how to define the term?

americanbanker.com/opinion/ditch-…

Looks like the “answer” #cryptocurrency has many of its own security risks/breaches - this fear must be why some people keep money in a mattress.

zdnet.com/article/2020s-…

If financially savvy people are falling for scams, how do we protect the historically marginalized? fbi.gov/news/pressrel/…

An issue with unbanked & underbanked is generating a credit score to get credit/be financed. Instead of traditional banks, can use #microfinance models. This examines that with #blockchain.

forbes.com/sites/seanstei…

#microfinance won @Yunus_Centre a Nobel Prize. Video on how he started a movement.

When intelligent people get frustrated and keep trying to solve a problem, you get pretty awesome results. You sometimes just need to care enough and not give up.

I get frustrated with cultural chauvinism and misallocation of resources in a lot of these issues. Not about being prudish, rather, what women and men need is economic empowerment and self efficacy. Access to credit, loans, financing is a huge part of that.

https://twitter.com/usnehal/status/1225067667150819335

On how #Pakistan is handing #digital #finance #Ehsaas @SaniaNishtar

Love that they are inviting ethical #hackers to find vulnerabilities so they can troubleshoot and plan ahead for inevitable future attacks #hackathon

nation.com.pk/09-Oct-2020/eh…

It’s impressive what is being done via #Ehsaas by @SaniaNishtar including in very low resource villages in #Pakistan

So the U.S. has GOT to be able to reduce the unbanked/underbanked rate from 22%

https://twitter.com/sanianishtar/status/1217866324166180864

A conversation between @BillGates and @SaniaNishtar on #poverty alleviation at @SDGaction @UN_SDG

A step before all this for many is the digital divide

cs.stanford.edu/people/erobert…

time.com/4718032/the-di…

There are gender disparities as well in the #digitaldivide globally

news.un.org/en/story/2019/…

From the @UN on the imperative of closing the #digitaldivide, especially to prevent worsening of inequities. #poverty #equity

news.un.org/en/story/2019/…

Of course as some are trying to expand access, there is this threat of a #technology Cold War for power that often disrupts attempts to democratize

foreignaffairs.com/articles/north…

More on that U.S. China #digital Cold War and what to expect from president elect #technology #technews

Interestingly, China is doing a much better job at poverty alleviation

“people living in poverty in China has fallen from 750 million in 1990 to just 16.6 million in 2019.”

But their human rights record is 😱, especially vs Muslims

borgenproject.org/poverty-allevi…

A 10 minute video on #poverty in America. While the absolute number has gone down, near poverty has spread and the nature of poverty has changed

~40 million live in poverty or 1/8th of the population living in less than $26K/year for a family of 4

Child hunger in America is especially a problem and expected to worsen this winter.

“Nearly 12% of Americans, or 25.7 million people, reported not having enough to eat over the past week”

1 in 6 children live in food insecure households.

cnbc.com/2020/12/11/mil…

Many people have to choose between paying for food or paying for housing - food insecurity and housing insecurity go together along with other #SDoH or #socialdeterminantsofhealth

housingmatters.urban.org/articles/how-s…

A #podcast I did with @ACHEConnect on #SDoH or #Socialdeterminantsofhealth #healthcare #poverty #MedTwitter

massache.org/social-determi…

Going back to the initial tweet, what do people who are homeless do in banking which is step towards cashless? These are a few options:

homelessthf.org/education/modu…

@threadreaderapp please unroll