“Thunes , a Singapore-based fintech company and a global leader in cross-border payments, announced today a collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to address systemic inequality in accessing financial services by driving innovation across payments and market infrastructures. As a collaborator of the WEF’s Platform for Shaping the Future of Financial and Monetary Systems , Thunes will engage with the WEF Financial community to provide strategic insights, identify gaps and best practices, and contribute to the development of policies and programmes that will help address financial inclusion and sustainable development.”

“New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was joined by executives from Mastercard, Mobility Capital Finance, Inc. (MoCaFi), and Forward Together New Orleans to announce the Crescent City Card Program. The program involves of a series of initiatives and products to offer financial inclusion, access to emergency disbursements, incentives to drive economic growth, empower underbanked residents, and provide better access to City services such as NORD recreation centers, parks, libraries, and public transportation.”

“Mastercard and Citi today announced a new partnership to support local residents and small businesses through greater public-private sector collaboration. Through City Possible , Mastercard’s partnership and co-creation framework for cities, the two global leaders will bring their collective resources, expertise, and integrated urban development frameworks to the City Possible network.”

“Pay Theory , a Cincinnati-based startup that provides payment solutions for school districts, childcare, and families, is excited to announce the launch of its cash payments tool to simplify the burden of making school-related payments for the roughly 30 percent of K–12 families in the US who are un- or underbanked. The Pay Theory in-person cash payments function allows users to complete digital payment transactions in the analog world without having to have a credit card. When making a school-related payment online, users can select the “pay cash” option. They will then be issued a barcode that can be scanned by a cashier just like any other coupon. The bill can be paid in cash right along with groceries or a prescription pickup.”

“A regional grocer is now accepting federal EBT SNAP payments for eligible items for online in-store pickup and curbside pickup orders. Consumers using federal SNAP benefits (popularly known as food stamps) now have the option to pay with an EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card when placing online orders for in-store pickup and delivery at 147 stores located throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware.”

“The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) announced today that there are now more than 100 bank and credit union accounts nationally certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards . Banks and credit unions offering certified accounts comprise over 50% of the U.S. deposit market share, and 40% of all US bank branches offer a certified account; nearly two million Bank On certified accounts were opened in 2019… Bank On works to ensure that everyone has access to safe and affordable financial products and services. The Bank On National Account Standards identify critical product features for appropriate bank or credit union accounts, making it easier for local coalitions across the country to connect consumers to accounts that meet their needs. Core account features include low costs, no overdraft fees, robust transaction capabilities such as a debit or prepaid card, and online bill pay.”

“As part of its goal to provide unbanked and underbanked consumers affordable digital access to financial services through a single application, BlocPal International Inc. has partnered with OneFeather, a Victoria, British Columbia-based provider of digital services to indigenous people in Canada, to introduce the OneFeather app in that country. The app is intended to be a single platform for access to myriad digital services such as banking, election and voting services, data sovereignty and community engagement among indigenous people, says Sushant Trivedi, chief marketing officer for Vancouver, British Columbia-based BlocPal.”

“McWilliams discussed the FDIC’s multi-pronged approach to tackle the issue of financial inclusion, which includes: (i) looking at financial innovations in the private sector; (ii) taking steps, including hosting tech sprints, to identify solutions; (iii) coordinating with Minority Depository Institutions and Community Development Financial Institutions; and (iv) conducting targeted public awareness campaigns on the importance of having a banking relationship. In explaining the initiatives, McWilliams pointed out that encouraging the use of alternative data that is not usually found in consumer credit files can “help firms evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers who might not otherwise have access to credit in the mainstream credit system.””

“Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown has spent months advocating for his legislation to offer all consumers free government-backed digital bank accounts available through bank branches and U.S. Postal Service offices. While the proposal has been met with widespread opposition from the banking industry, Brown argues the legislation will not only bring new customers into bank branches, but also help smaller banks build their technology infrastructure… Brown’s bill would give all consumers access to free digital bank accounts, known as FedAccounts, that would be held at the Federal Reserve and accessible at bank branches and post offices. Fed-member banks would be required to offer the accounts, and nonmember banks have the option to do so, also. The Fed would reimburse banks with assets under $10 billion each quarter for the costs they incur to set up and operate the accounts; the amount of reimbursement has not been specified.”

“The FDIC announced a competition today for companies to explore new technologies for banks to meet the needs of unbanked individuals. The “tech sprint” asks participants to identify better tools to help banks get unbanked households into the banking system and keep them banked. The FDIC is inviting banks, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions and private sector companies to participate. Organizations will have two weeks to submit applications requesting participation, after a review of submissions, the FDIC will invite a select number of teams to participate. Selected teams will have three weeks to work on their proposed solution and then the FDIC will host a demo day, inviting teams to make short presentations to a panel of experts who will evaluate their submission.”

“The Monetary Authority of Singapore(MAS) is joining the Mojaloop Foundation, the first central bank to send a director to serve as an advisor to the board of the foundation which supports financial inclusion in developing countries, primarily in Africa and South Asia. MAS is both Singapore’s central bank and its integrated financial regulator. The foundation’s announcement said that Mojaloop will benefit from Singapore’s policy development perspectives and technical guidance. Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer of MAS, will serve as an adviser to the Mojaloop Foundation’s Board of Directors and Alan Lim, division head of the MAS FinTech Infrastructure Office, will serve on Mojaloop’s technical governing board.”

“Wells Fargo today announced the Banking Inclusion Initiative , a 10-year commitment to help unbanked individuals gain access to affordable, mainstream, digitally-enabled transactional accounts – a meaningful entry point to fully participating in the economy and achieving financial stability. The initiative will focus on reaching unbanked communities and, in particular, helping remove barriers to financial inclusion for Black and African American, Hispanic, and Native American/Alaska Native families, which account for more than half of America’s 7 million unbanked households1. It also will assist those who are underbanked or underserved – individuals who may have a bank account yet continue to use high cost, non-bank services and have similar needs.”

“The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta announces the formation of a Special Committee on Payments Inclusion focused on finding solutions for cash-reliant individuals to become better connected to the economy, including to innovative financial services. The committee, a public- and private-sector collaboration sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, will work to advance ubiquitous access to safe, efficient, and inclusive payments for everyone. Payments innovations such as digital wallets, mobile payments, and person-to-person payment apps offer convenience to many consumers and businesses, but they also raise concerns about how to include populations already marginally attached to the economy. This collaboration of payments and financial inclusion experts will conduct research on emerging issues in payments inclusion, collect and analyze data to better understand trends in the evolving payments ecosystem, and make recommendations to the industry and policymakers based on research findings.”

“Welcome Tech, a provider of digital financial services to unbanked and underbanked Hispanics, plans to leverage $35 million in new funding it secured last week to grow its customer base by about 1 million and add more financial services, such as a pathway to credit, to help bring its customers into the mainstream of financial services. To date, Welcome Tech has raised $50 million.”

“Recently, the California legislature introduced AB 1177 —the California Public Banking Option Act—which would, if enacted, establish the Public Banking Opinion Board and task the Board with designing, implementing, and overseeing a program for consumers in the state who lack access to traditional banking services. Specifically, the bill would create the BankCal Program, which would protect unbanked and underbanked consumers from predatory, discriminatory, and costly alternatives by providing “access to voluntary, zero-fee, zero-penalty, federally insured transaction account and debit card services at no cost to account holders.””

“California lawmakers are backing a bill to create BankCal, a government program that would offer a “zero-fee, zero-penalty” consumer banking option to the state’s residents. The measure is aimed at “protecting consumers who lack access to traditional banking services from predatory, discriminatory, and costly alternatives.” Assembly Bill 1177, which lawmakers and advocates unveiled last week, would establish a Public Banking Option Board, which would partner with financial institutions to offer the free accounts. California employers with five or more employees would be required to facilitate direct deposit, when requested, into the account.”

“i2c Inc. , a global leader in digital payments and banking technology, today announced cloud-based banking engine BrightFi has selected i2c solutions to help provide low-cost, feature-rich, mobile financial services to underbanked and unbanked consumers, as well as to organizations and financial institutions aiming to serve the historically overlooked market segment.”

“As part of the Walsh Administration’s work to reduce racial and economic disparities in banking access, Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Mayor’s Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) today announced that its Bank On Boston initiative has partnered with USALLIANCE Financial to design a free, easy-to-use checking account that meets the needs of Boston’s unbanked and underbanked residents. With the creation of Dora Everyday Checking , USALLIANCE Financial becomes the first regional financial institution to meet Bank On national account standards for safety and affordability.”