FinTech

Instant payments can substitute for cash when adoption moves quickly beyond high-income early users. Evidence from Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico finds that the key is a rapid low-income gradient: systems must combine low adoption costs, dense networ...

In India, shadow banks do not compete with traditional banks through a single mechanism – fintech lenders use superior data technology to reach underserved borrowers in unsecured markets, while non-fintech shadow banks exploit lighter regulatory cons...

Performance-linked contracts, increasingly enabled by financial technology, can better spur investment among small firms than rigid microcredit—especially for risk- and loss-averse business owners.

While digital credit broadens market access and reduces frictions in developing countries, default rates are often high. In Mexico, reducing loan speed—by doubling delivery time—decreased the likelihood of default significantly. Such waiting periods ...

How has the destruction of digital infrastructure exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Sudan?

Fintech has the potential to enhance financial inclusion and welfare for low-income migrants, but its benefits may be limited for migrants with lower financial literacy.

Digital credit does not appear to systematically improve lives, while the lack of transparency raises serious concerns about predatory lending

While their location in the payment chain gives payment fintechs a debt-enforcement advantage, borrower behaviour can limit their success

Tech developments have made many things more efficient, convenient and cheaper — but there’s also a downside