021313-Issue 3: Financial Inclusion and the Other 2 Billion People

Most people around the world don’t have bank accounts. Many don’t even have a bank near them where they could get a bank account. They pay with cash and sometimes barter. Their miserable situation is self-reinforcing. When consumers and merchants lack the basic tools of commerce, commerce doesn’t happen, economies don’t grow, and people can’t better themselves much even from hard work. And the problem isn’t just in rural areas in Africa.
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