World Bank - News, Articles & Research

Project Promissa launched to test tokenisation for promissory notes

Project Promissa has been launched by BIS Innovation Hub, Swiss National Bank, and World Bank to build a platform for digital tokenised promissory notes.

12 January 2024

News/people

Biden nominates ex-Mastercard CEO Banga for World Bank president

President Biden has nominated former Mastercard CEO and president Ajay Banga to serve as president of the World Bank.

23 February 2023

Company announcement/payments

BIS explores multilateral platforms for cross-border payments

Multilateral platforms – cross-border payment systems that are multi-jurisdictional by design – could enhance cross-border payments by reducing the need for intermediaries and allowing payment service providers in different jurisdictions to transact directly with each other.

19 January 2023

News/inclusion

Regulators are urging fintechs to boost financial inclusion – CCAF

A recent joint study from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge and World Bank found that the financial regulators are prioritising fintech business models to contribute to financial inclusion and boost local economies, particularly in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).

25 November 2022

Company announcement/inclusion

Regulators prioritising fintech initiatives to boost financial inclusion - study

Financial regulators around the world continue to recognize the importance of fintech business models for promoting financial inclusion as economies recover from the COVID-19 crisis, alongside utilising technology for managing evolving consumer risks associated with digital financial services, according to a new survey by The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and The World Bank.

23 November 2022

Finextra TV/startups

World Bank's Call To Action: Fintech Firm Voices Heard Through COVID-19 FinTech Market Impact Study

In an exclusive with FinextraTV, Ana Fiorella Carvajal, Lead Financial Sector Expert, World Bank, speaks about their partnership and involvement with CCAF and World Economic Forum in 'The Global COVID-19 Fintech Market Impact & Industry Resilience Study'. We hear why insight from the research is so important to World Bank, how partnerships between academic institutions and development organisations make a tangible impact and the development of the FinTech industry relates to the World Bank’s goals.

28 September 2021

News/regulation

CCAF, World Bank and World Economic Forum call on fintechs to uncover Covid-19 impact

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), World Bank and World Economic Forum are calling on fintechs to participate in data collection for the group’s Global Covid-19 FinTech Market Impact & Industry Resilience Study before its October deadline.

20 September 2021

News/inclusion

World Bank's IFC invests $10m in FintechOS to boost financial inclusion

IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — has invested $10 million in FintechOS, backing the European startup's low-code approach as a way to boost financial inclusion around the world.

05 August 2021

News/startups

CCAF, World Bank, World Economic Forum launch second Covid-19 fintech impact study

Building on findings and insights from its landmark 2020 survey, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) is once again partnering with the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum to investigate the impact Covid-19 has borne on fintech firms.

20 July 2021

News/inclusion

UN International Day of Family Remittances: 2020 beats forecasts

Launched in 2015 to build awareness of the contribution that migrant workers make to economies of their home countries, the UN’s International Day of Remittances (IDFR) this year welcomes a more positive picture than had been predicted by the World Bank.

16 June 2021

News/regulation

Regulatory innovation advances in the face of Covid-19

While Covid-19 may have wreaked havoc across financial services, according to a recent report the pandemic has driven the urgency to prioritise and actively deploy fintech initiatives by regulators.

08 January 2021

News/startups

CCAF, World Bank, WEF: Covid-19 caused uneven growth across fintech

A joint report by The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum, has found that while 12 out of 13 fintech sectors reported year-on-year growth during the first half of 2020, significant discrepancies between sectors and regions remain.

03 December 2020

News/startups

CCAF, World Bank, World Economic Forum study into Covid-19 impact on fintech: A sneak peek

In anticipation of the official launch, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) invited industry participants to join an examination into the results of the Global Covid-19 Fintech Market Rapid Assessment Study, compiled in partnership with the World Bank and World Economic Forum.

01 December 2020

News/payments

EBAday 2020: Digital payments should be synonymous with convenience

Diving into the sessions on day one of EBAday 2020, defining the direction of travel for digital payments was resoundingly clear: mobile-led convenience.

24 November 2020

News/regulation

Covid-19 spurs fintech regulation innovation - study

Covid-19 has led to a strong increase in the use of fintech products and services, prompting central banks and other financial authorities to step up their own regulatory innovation efforts, according to a report from the World Bank and the Cambridge Centre For Alternative Finance (CCAF).

29 October 2020

Finextra TV/regulation

World Bank's tailored advice for fintechs post Covid-19

Ana Fiorella Carvajal, Lead Financial Sector Expert, World Bank talks about their study with The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance into the impact of Covid19 on Global Fintech. We hear about the state of play between fintech firms and SMEs, the importance of expanding access to finance for SMEs during Covid-19, and how different fintechs across the globe are looking for tailored recovery advice to help them survive post-pandemic.

23 July 2020

Finextra TV/markets

Investigating Covid-19's impact on Global FinTech

Tania Ziegler, Head of Global Benchmarking at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, speaks to FinextraTV about CCAF, World Bank and the World Economic Forum's investigation into the impact of Covid19 on Global FinTech, the thinking behind the study and who the Global Covid-19 FinTech Market Rapid Assessment Survey is for. We learn about their taxonomy, why it is so important in enabling the industry to define what ‘FinTech’ means and how the data will be analysed, compiled and used to understand Covid-19’s impact on the FinTech markets and how the global FinTech industry has responded.

06 July 2020

News/startups

CCAF, World Bank, World Economic Forum launch survey to research fintech’s role post-Covid-19

Targeting 15,000 fintech firms worldwide, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) announced it has partnered with the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum to survey industry players and compile data about Covid-19’s impact on the marketplace.

15 June 2020

Company announcement/startups

CCAF, World Bank and the World Economic Forum investigate Covid-19's impact on global fintech

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School is partnering with the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum to launch a Global Covid-19 FinTech Market Rapid Assessment Survey. The empirical data collected will be used to understand Covid-19’s impact on the FinTech markets, how the global FinTech industry has responded and some of the immediate regulatory and policy implications.

15 June 2020

Company announcement/payments

World bank predicts sharpest decline in remittances in recent history

Global remittances are projected to decline sharply by about 20 percent in 2020 due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.

22 April 2020