The 2017 Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from 13 to 15 September, under the theme of “Exploring diversity, promoting inclusion.”

Barry Cooper, technical director at Cenfri, along with Juliet Munro, Inclusive Finance Director at FSD Africa, were invited to present at the African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI) Leader’s Roundtable on African cross-border payments and remittances: Policy and regulatory considerations to spur financial inclusion.

Their presentation delivered key insights into the value of cross-border payments into sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to act as potential tools for financial inclusion. It highlighted that despite increasing adoption of mobile money in the region, informal high-cost, cash-based remittances persisted. It recommended the need for a coordinated approach to developing a transformed financial ecosystem capable of supporting high volume and low-value payments, capacitating informal market providers, and servicing the needs of consumers where they find value.