Geneva, Switzerland, 4 December 2014
Introduction
The International Telecommunication Union is organizing a Workshop on Digital Financial Services and Financial Inclusion in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on 4 December 2014.
The workshop will be followed by the first meeting of the Focus Group on Digital Financial Services (FG DFS) on 5 December 2014 at the same venue. Detailed information including the Terms of Reference can be found at the FG DFS website: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/dfs/Pages/default.aspx.
Objectives
The objectives of this workshop are to:
- Discuss the enabling role of ICTs in meeting the goals of financial inclusion by illustrating some successful use cases;
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Discuss the future technology trends in digital financial services and its impact on business models and the ecosystem;
- Create a platform for dialogue between the telecom and financial services sectors to discuss best practices for the harmonization of legal and regulatory framework for digital finance globally; and
- Identify collective action and specific next steps to advance the work in the Focus Group on Digital Financial Services.
The inputs of the workshop will be submitted to the Focus Group on Digital Financial Services as contribution for the development of a "Roadmap for interoperable digital financial services".
Target Audience
ITU Member States, ICT regulators, Financial services regulators, policymakers, Mobile Network Operators, Banks, Financial Service Providers, Mobile financial services platform providers, International Organizations and NGOs involved in financial inclusion programmes and academia.