A Newsletter Published by FSE

ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES

Millions of South Africans get first access to banks. Chronicle, November 1, 2004.

A Tale of Four Village Banking Programs. Best Practices in Latin America.  IADB, by Glenn Westley, June 2004.
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PAYMENT SYSTEMS

ATM industry under pressure. While the ATM business appears to possess healthy fundamentals in aggregate, the picture looks less positive for individual deployers suffering from shrinking margins.  ATMmarketplace.com, October 2004.   

Survey of developments in electronic money and internet and mobile payments. Information on current and new innovative products. Bank for International Settlements, March 2004.   

Payments in the Americas. Conference focused on remittance market and facilitating electronic payments and reducing costs to consumers. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, October 7–8, 2004.

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	Welcome to the first edition of AccessFinance! From Bob Keppler, Senior Advisor, FSE The aim of AccessFinance is to share information, ideas and practical experiences on access to financial services and financial infrastructure ... continued

The Remittances Boom

What does it mean for the work of development?

By Lisa Taber, FSE

More than US$93billion in remittances poured through formal channels into developing countries in 2003, and these cash flows have nearly quadrupled over the last seven years. While the explosion in migrant remittances has received a lot of attention, less has been said about the specific implications these massive transfers have upon the work of development, and vice-versa.
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Bank fosters international public – private dialogue on credit reporting

Beijing conference draws nearly 300, highlights include discussion of new credit reporting standards, participation of sitting legislators and viewing of a Colombian soap opera

By Margaret J. Miller, FSE

Nearly 300 delegates from more than 50 countries participated in the international conference, “Public Policy for Credit Reporting Systems: Strengthening Public – Private Dialogue and Partnership” which was held in Beijing, China from September 28 to 30. The event was co-hosted by the People’s Bank of China and organized jointly with the bi-annual international private consumer credit reporting conference. | more

CREDIT INFORMATION

Credit Information Systems in Less-Developed Countries:  Recent History and a Test.  By Jill Luoto, Craig McIntosh, and Bruce Wydick, September 2004.

A Review of Credit Registers and their Use for Basel II.   Financial Stability Institute, Bank of Spain, by Carlos Trucharte Artigas, September 2004. 
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REMITTANCES

Monetary Lifeline.
Remittances from migrant workers in rich countries are increasingly important to developing economies.  The Economist, July, 2004. 

Easy Money. Expanding in an age of terror, Western Union faces scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal, by Glenn R. Simpson, October, 2004

Lessons from the US-Mexico Remittances Corridor on Shifting from Informal to Formal Transfer Systems. The World Bank. By Raúl Hernández-Coss. November, 2004.

Remittances and Microfinance: Colombian case study and best practices in the region. IADB, Cartagena, Colombia, September 8, 2004.

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