In its second year, Financial Inclusion Week expanded its reach and once again displayed how the financial inclusion community is engaged and working for better services for end-users. The theme for FI Week, keeping clients first in a digital world, responded to the pervasive need to ensure that clients are served with respect and dignity, even in the quickly innovating digital financial ecosystem.
At CFI, we believe that keeping clients first in a digital world requires examining the essentials of quality services and client treatment. Financial technology has the potential to improve access, increase convenience, lower prices, and build financial capability. However, fintech also has the potential to take away some of the respect and dignity present in an in-person banking transaction, and it can create new risks.
Throughout the week, we were excited to see Financial Inclusion Week partners and participating stakeholders explore the ways that they keep clients first – and the opportunities to do so. The conversations covered a variety of topics, from digital media for building financial literacy and capability in Nepal, to technology to assist loan officers lending to smallholder farmers, to using digital products as a way to overcome consumer behavioral barriers in Kenya. Collectively, they highlighted the potential of technology to better understand and engage clients (see Financial Inclusion Week Story).
In this roundup e-zine, we hope to capture the energy and insights of Financial Inclusion Week 2016. We will explore the week’s theme, share photos, and dive into the conversations of the week’s events, while highlighting the client perspective. We thank all of the Financial Inclusion Week partners and contributing organizations, and all of those who participated in the conversation either online or at in-person events. We hope the conversation on keeping clients first in a digital world extends far beyond October 17-21. It is clear that protected and empowered clients are the heart of a sustainable inclusive finance ecosystem.
Best Regards,
Elisabeth Rhyne
Managing Director
Center for Financial Inclusion
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November 2016
Financial Inclusion Week Roundup