The European Commission's Directorate General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations approached the World Bank to develop an evidence base and to deliver policy advice and technical assistance for supporting the effective reintegration of (Roma) returnees in the Western Balkans: Albania,...

Building and maintaining roads can have significant economic and social benefits in terms of economic growth and increased access to jobs and to a range of services citizens depend on. However, road infrastructure and transport services are often mistakenly assumed to have uniform benefits for...

This note documents the experience of several countries that leveraged these tools under the Financial Inclusion Support Framework (FISF) program. FISF is a World Bank Group initiative that aims to accelerate and increase the effectiveness of reforms and other country-led actions to achieve...

Open banking schemes provide consumers with more choice and new financial products and services through the use of technology, particularly application programing interfaces (API's). The main objective of this paper is to provide guidance on how to implement consumer consent protocols to access...

Consumer protection is an important element of financial sector stabilization and development agenda in Azerbaijan. The falling oil prices and weaker macroeconomic fundamentals on top of the negative external shocks have led to devaluation of the national currency and erosion of public trust in...

In response to a request of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and as part of a broader engagement on enhancing financial consumer protection and education in the Philippines, the World Bank has implemented a financial capability survey. Financial inclusion, financial literacy and consumer...

Financial inclusion in Zambia has nearly doubled in the last ten years - from 21.3 percent in 2005 to 40.2 percent in 2016. This success was made possible by Zambia's Financial Sector Development Plan that concluded in 2015. And yet, when compared to other lower-middle income countries, Zambia...

Financial sector authorities increasingly prioritize financial inclusion and financial consumer protection, alongside existing priorities of stability and integrity. An enabling environment that facilitates competition, promotes innovation and the use of technology, addresses risks in a...

China has achieved remarkable success in financial inclusion. China's rate of account ownership - a basic metric of financial inclusion - has increased significantly in the past two decades and is now on par with that of other G-20 countries. Traditional financial service providers have...