digital finance

Digitizing trade – how changing the process is changing development
Finance sector development, Industry and trade

Digitizing trade – how changing the process is changing development

Over 31 million consumers in Viet Nam researched or purchased a product online in 2015. Just ten years ago, internet connectivity was only starting to become common. Digitization is changing how people trade. There are even more dramatic changes happening under the hood. The way trade is financed, processed and regulated has entered a period of disruption. We take this opportunity to consider the short and long term implications of digitization of the trade process. They’re not what you’d expect.
Fintech is the game-changer for financial inclusion in Asia
Finance sector development

Fintech is the game-changer for financial inclusion in Asia

Due to innovations in financial technology and changes in the enabling environment, the number of financially excluded adults across Asia and the Pacific has dropped to about 1 billion. Increased access to affordable financial services can be a lever for Asians to smoothen consumption, manage risk and improve their lives through better savings options, access to credit, and cheaper payments or remittances.
Analyzing microfinance loans is one way to collect “alternative data” on consumer debt levels and ability to repay. An ADB-supported microfinance institution in Uzbekistan. Photo by Eric Sales
Finance sector development

3 ways to serve Asia and the Pacific’s ‘unbanked’

Every time I stop and withdraw cash from an ATM or use my credit card to buy something online, I wonder how many people in Asia have access to such services. In fact, these simple transactions are beyond the reach of 45% of adults in East Asia and the Pacific alone. They are excluded from the formal financial system and will remain so until they open a bank account.
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