This report is based on a study of the costs of retail payments in Kosovo, using a methodology (A Practical Guide for Measuring Retail Payment Costs) developed by the World Bank's Payment System Development Group (PSDG), part of the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice. The...

This report aims to deepen the understanding of barriers to and incentives for the acceptance and use of electronic payments, from the perspective of micro, small and medium retailers (merchants). Developing and accelerating acceptance of electronic payments by these merchants is essential to...

This report is based on a study of the costs and savings of retail payments in Albania using a methodology (A Practical Guide for Measuring Retail Payment Costs) developed by the World Bank's Payment Systems Development Group, part of the Financial Inclusion, Infrastructure, and Access at the...

This policy note highlights the important benefits that digital government can bring to a country's government and people. Specifically, it states the rationale for digital government transformation in Vietnam and lays out the what and how of a prioritization and sequencing strategy that can...

The war in Ukraine is a human tragedy for the people of Ukraine, but its economic implications are global. This instant report focuses on the direct impact of the war on world trade and investment. It identifies five trade and investment channels through which countries will be affected by the...

Nepal continues to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, but the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive has helped to reduce the fatality rate. The country experienced a first wave in March 2020, a second wave in mid-April 2021, and a third wave in January 2022. In response, social distancing...

The paper draws on the Inclusive Global Value Chains report submitted by the OECD and the World Bank Group to G20 Trade Ministers in October 2015, refining and prioritizing the options contained therein. The original report proposed a holistic approach to promoting more inclusive Global Value...

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...

The Philippines' economic growth outlook remains positive, yet downside risks have increased. An expected slowdown in global trade in the medium term is likely to further dampen Philippine exports. Nevertheless, baseline economic growth is projected at 6.5 percent in 2018, 6.7 percent in 2019,...

In 2006-07, the Water and Sanitation Program-South Asia (WSP-SA) initiated a research toidentify barriers to service delivery for the urban poor. The research included a review ofvarious initiatives from across the globe that have resulted in improved service delivery for theurban poor and...