Lolita Singahan is one of many Filipinos benefiting from the USAID Microenterprise Access to Banking Services program that disbursed loans to borrowers and provides mobile banking services.

USAID

Of the 2.6 billion people who live on less than $2 per day, an estimated 90 percent lack access to formal financial services. As a result, most poor households operate almost entirely in the informal and cash economy, making it difficult for them to access financial services that create an ability to save for the future, build assets and move out of poverty.

On Monday, September 24, Administrator Shah will co-host the launch event for the Better than Cash Alliance, a global public-private partnership dedicated to supporting organizations’ transition away from cash to electronic payments. USAID convened the founders of the Alliance, which include The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citi, Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network, U.N. Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Visa Inc. The Alliance will call on governments, the development community and the private sector to adopt the use of electronic payments for programs that support people living in poverty and provide resources to those who commit to make the transition.

Joining Administrator Shah at the event will be UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, Ford Foundation President Luis Ubiñas, the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development Princess Máxima of the Netherlands and other special guests.

Read more about the Better than Cash Alliance