World Bank - News, Articles & Research

BIS project puts promissory notes on the blockchain

Project Promissa, a collaboration between the Bank for International Settlements' Innovation Hub, the Swiss National Bank, and the World Bank, has demonstrated that paper-based promissory notes can be redesigned using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to address operational challenges that make the process time-consuming and cumbersome.

24 April 2025

Company announcement/payments

International Financial Corporation closes $20 million investment in Zepz

Zepz, the Group powering global remittance brands WorldRemit and Sendwave, has announced that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has closed its $20 million equity investment in the company.

14 January 2025

News/devops

Project Promissa launched to test tokenisation for promissory notes

Project Promissa has been launched by BIS Innovation Hub, Swiss National Bank, and World Bank to build a platform for digital tokenised promissory notes.

12 January 2024

News/people

Biden nominates ex-Mastercard CEO Banga for World Bank president

President Biden has nominated former Mastercard CEO and president Ajay Banga to serve as president of the World Bank.

23 February 2023

Company announcement/payments

BIS explores multilateral platforms for cross-border payments

Multilateral platforms – cross-border payment systems that are multi-jurisdictional by design – could enhance cross-border payments by reducing the need for intermediaries and allowing payment service providers in different jurisdictions to transact directly with each other.

19 January 2023

News/inclusion

Regulators are urging fintechs to boost financial inclusion – CCAF

A recent joint study from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge and World Bank found that the financial regulators are prioritising fintech business models to contribute to financial inclusion and boost local economies, particularly in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).

25 November 2022

Company announcement/inclusion

Regulators prioritising fintech initiatives to boost financial inclusion - study

Financial regulators around the world continue to recognize the importance of fintech business models for promoting financial inclusion as economies recover from the COVID-19 crisis, alongside utilising technology for managing evolving consumer risks associated with digital financial services, according to a new survey by The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and The World Bank.

23 November 2022

Finextra TV/startups

World Bank's Call To Action: Fintech Firm Voices Heard Through COVID-19 FinTech Market Impact Study

In an exclusive with FinextraTV, Ana Fiorella Carvajal, Lead Financial Sector Expert, World Bank, speaks about their partnership and involvement with CCAF and World Economic Forum in 'The Global COVID-19 Fintech Market Impact & Industry Resilience Study'. We hear why insight from the research is so important to World Bank, how partnerships between academic institutions and development organisations make a tangible impact and the development of the FinTech industry relates to the World Bank’s goals.

28 September 2021

News/regulation

CCAF, World Bank and World Economic Forum call on fintechs to uncover Covid-19 impact

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), World Bank and World Economic Forum are calling on fintechs to participate in data collection for the group’s Global Covid-19 FinTech Market Impact & Industry Resilience Study before its October deadline.

20 September 2021

News/inclusion

World Bank's IFC invests $10m in FintechOS to boost financial inclusion

IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — has invested $10 million in FintechOS, backing the European startup's low-code approach as a way to boost financial inclusion around the world.

05 August 2021

News/startups

CCAF, World Bank, World Economic Forum launch second Covid-19 fintech impact study

Building on findings and insights from its landmark 2020 survey, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) is once again partnering with the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum to investigate the impact Covid-19 has borne on fintech firms.

20 July 2021

News/inclusion

UN International Day of Family Remittances: 2020 beats forecasts

Launched in 2015 to build awareness of the contribution that migrant workers make to economies of their home countries, the UN’s International Day of Remittances (IDFR) this year welcomes a more positive picture than had been predicted by the World Bank.

16 June 2021