Chris Larson

Inclusive Finance: How Technology Brings Banking to the Underserved

Chris Brummer, Chris Larson, Bill Berheit, Shamina Singh, David Thompson, Bob, David Rockefeller Jr., Stacey Worden

Industry leaders from organizations like Safaricom, Abra, Ripple, and Western Union are leveraging mobile technology and distributed ledgers to provide financial services to the estimated 2 billion unbanked adults globally. These innovations, ranging from the "Human ATM" model to biometric identity verification, enable real-time settlements and micro-transactions that bypass traditional banking infrastructure while reducing costs for low-income populations. Although regulatory hurdles and legacy banking lobbying present significant challenges, public-private partnerships are increasingly digitizing social subsidies to combat corruption and unlock trillions of dollars in purchasing power within emerging markets.