Improving inclusion and creating better financial services for long underserved individuals and communities, remains vital. I’m proud to be part of an industry that has been innovating to improve people’s lives for many years, and it’s a privilege to continue this important work through the efforts of Project Inclusion and the Payments Association.
Project Inclusion has the specific purpose to inform and collaborate with government, regulators and third sector bodies, providing clarity on innovations and solutions in payments that can reduce financial exclusion and the poverty premium. It seeks to achieve this by collaborating with industry bodies, developing thought-leadership campaigns, and informing regulatory and legislative decisions.
Cost-of-Living and Benefits
Examining how the payments industry can support the most vulnerable population through welfare and employment payments.
Open Banking
Exploring how open banking can provide access to tailored and fair financial services to those unbanked and underserved.
Policy Agenda
Engaging with the key regulatory bodies (BoE, FCA and the PSR) to drive the financial inclusion agenda forward.
Pooja Bhachu, Director, Public Policy, UK&I, Mastercard
Neil Harris, CEO, B-Yond
Nigel Atta-Mensah, Vice President, Crown Agents Bank
Jos Henson Gric, Founder, Flex
Simon Thomas, Prepaid Product Manager, allpay
Kevin Flood, Technology Consulting, Ernst & Young LLP
Kit Yarker, Director, Product and Propositions, EML Payments
Lindsay Ward, COO, Optimus Cards
Thomas O’Kelly, Associate Partner, Infosys Consulting
Josh Berle, Director of New Business Development, Mastercard
This interview series explores the cost-of-living crisis, with members of Project speaking to a range of organisations that are offering solutions for those communities hit the hardest. These discussions explore how the crisis is impacting different demographics from homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage to financially and digitally excluded elderly communities. They also explore how the payments industry can better support these communities and call for the UK government and regulators to work closer with innovative firms offering solutions.
Financial exclusion is a huge issue when it comes to cross border payments since a large portion of these payments travel from the developed to the developing world, which typically lacks the appropriate financial infrastructure and services. Therefore, the Project Inclusion team sought to speak to several organisations who are encouraging global financial inclusion in developing and emerging markets by providing critical solutions that tackle cost, speed, access and compliance when it comes to cross border payments.
Through a series of interviews, a podcast and report, Project Inclusion set out to find out what it means to be a sustainable fintech and where do you start. The report, ‘Sustainability Superheroes: A how-to guide to ESG for Fintechs’, provided insights from several fintech leaders.
Through a series of interviews with fintech experts, Project Inclusion learnt about different use cases in how crypto helps aid Financial Inclusion. The interviews amalgamated in a series of blogs released as a social media campaign exploring the themes brought up in the interviews.
Financial inclusion has long been synonymized with the 1.7 bn unbanked across the world. This initiative highlighted the needs of significant communities beyond the unbanked, who seek financial products that accommodate their values and beliefs.
Project Inclusion provided an overview of how Fintech innovation is increasing access to affordable credit and tackling financial exclusion.
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