Gettting Poor People to Save

June 22, 2011

Getting people to save - especially the unbanked and underbanked - is no simple undertaking. Just ask the folks at the World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI).

WSBI last year launched a program to create 10 million sustainable and affordable savings accounts in developing countries, where upwards of 90% of households have no access to formal financial services. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the program includes 10 participating banks, all headquartered in developing countries.

In a report released earlier this month, WSBI conceded on page one "that increasing financial access to the poor is easier said than done."

For the program to work the banks need to collaborate with non-banks, especially mobile carriers. And banks must do more to promote outreach.

"[B]anks must take a much more proactive approach, as it is no longer a question of what keeps the poor from accessing banks but rather what keeps banks from providing access for the poor," the report states.

Copies of the report are available on the WSBI Web site. Click here to be directed to the report.

One in four people, worldwide, survive on less than $1.25 a day