Banking On The Unbanked
Why Inclusion Is The Next Big Wave In Financial Services
What is poetry which does not save nations or people? -Czeslaw Milosz
The internet destroyed most advantages newspapers had built. But it did offer “one gift: free global distribution.” — Jeff Bezos On The Washington Post Acquisition
In many capitalist businesses, the bottom of the pyramid was left out simply because it wasn’t profitable enough to serve it. Then, but not now. What disruptive technologies such as open API’s, stable-coins on a blockchain and AI are doing is opening up the doors of traditional businesses such as banking to the underserved and in many cases the poor and the disenfranchised. Many would call financial inclusion a socialist ideal. However, in the ultimate irony of our times, it is this so called ‘socialist’ ideal that will drive growth for the financial services sector. As technology brings down the cost of acquisition, identification and of serving the client, the financial services business will become a ‘volume game’. A very significant ‘network effect’ will be needed to drive growth in an otherwise slowing global economy. Profit, ironically, will come from serving an ever…
