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Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • Devex Impact
    • Video: Robert Meloche, Visa

    Who is missing from the conversation about the unbanked?

    Providing financial services to 2.5 billion people with no access to banks around the world is just impossible without scale and sustainability. Find out more from Visa’s head of CSR in this video from an event hosted by Devex Impact in London.

    By Adva Saldinger // 28 February 2014

    The top financial corporations have often been missing from the conversation about the unbanked in emerging markets — and they must be involved to succeed in true financial inclusion goals.

    “There is no way to reach the 2.5 billion unbanked without banks,” Robert Meloche, director of corporate social responsibility for Visa, said at an event organized by Devex Impact at the U.K. Department for International Development’s headquarters in London. “Their potential for scale and sustainability is unrivaled.”

    A true multi-stakeholder partnership including big banks, mobile money operators, NGOs and often the government is necessary to increase the number of people in developing countries with access to finance, Meloche explained.

    Figuring out how to make these services affordable is another essential component, he added.

    “If we don’t get the cost structure right, we might as well not talk about it,” Meloche said. “I’m convinced there’s a way that the bank, the MNO [mobile network operator], as well as the merchant who maybe is accepting the payment as well as the processor can all have a shared value model all see a profit benefit but is also affordable.”

    Join Devex, the largest online community for international development, to network with peers, discover talent and forge new partnerships — it’s free. Then sign up for the Devex Impact newsletter to receive cutting-edge news and analysis every month on the intersection of business and development.

      Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

      About the author

      • Adva Saldinger

        Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal

        Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.

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