SAVING IS LIBERATING:

To help the poor, get rid of their cash: More than 2.5 billion people around the world today lack access to formal financial services – a major obstacle to building vital savings. But new mobile banking services are spreading in Africa, helping millions of people pull themselves out of poverty. (Jamie Zimmerman and Ignacio Mas, December 31, 2010, CS Monitor)

In the fight against poverty, achieving global access to financial services holds enormous potential. Even the poorest need tools to help maintain their daily needs, prepare for sudden adverse events like illness, and build assets to pull themselves out of poverty. Saving is the best tool both to reduce the risk of destitution and to increase wealth. Yet more than 2.5 billion people today lack access to formal financial services, which could help them achieve these feats. [...]

Imagine if every person had access to a transactional account via an electronic network that was convenient, affordable, and trusted. Beyond access to a savings account, clients could also use such networks for remittances and other person-to-person transfers and payments. Vitally, the record of these payments could provide the basis of a financial history, in turn providing customers with access to credit products, and bolstering entrepreneurship.