This book, finance for all, presents first efforts at developing indicators illustrating that financial access is quite limited around the world and identifies barriers that may be preventing small firms and poor households from using financial services. Based on this research, the report...

This report on anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulation addresses the consequences of these regulations on low-income people. The introduction of new or tightened AML/CFT regulations may have the unintended and undesirable consequence of reducing the...

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a major role in economic development, particularly in emerging countries, but access to finance remains a key constraint to SME. In the light of the new understanding of the SME finance challenges that this report synthesizes, the Financial Inclusion...

The main objective of this study is to identify the major impediments to access to financial services in rural areas, and provide practical recommendations to address the identified problems. The study aims to inform on rural finance policies and innovative instruments by examining both supply...

This paper discusses rural finance aspects of the World Bank's rural development strategy, "Reaching the Rural Poor" (see report no. 26763) by giving an overview of recent implementation experience, discussing current issues, and highlighting priorities for the future. The primary objective is...

Banking the Poor presents new data collected from two sources: central banks, and leading commercial banks in each surveyed country. It explores associations between countries' banking policies and practices, and their levels of financial access measured in terms of the numbers of bank accounts...

Access to basic services plays an important role in both individual well-being and a country's economic development. For this reason, general availability of these services to citizens, regardless of income level and geographical location, has generally been viewed as an important public policy...

Overview -- Banking the poor -- Starting to bank -- Adding customer services -- Building branchless banking -- Promoting access to banking -- Extending credit to entrepreneurs -- Increasing disclosure -- Data sources and methodology.

Banking the Poor explores level and determinants of financial access in 54 countries, mostly in Africa. It collects information from two sources: central banks and leading commercial banks in each surveyed country. It explores associations between countries' banking policies and practices and...