Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Political unrest when governments fail struggling citizens
What happens when 1.4 billion people are cut off from the global economy because they don't have a bank account at a time of mounting crises?
"The geopolitical ramifications are potentially huge," Ali Wyne, senior analyst for Global Macro-Geopolitics at Eurasia Group, says during a livestream conversation on closing the global digital gap hosted by GZERO in partnership with Visa.
First, it was COVID. Then came the twin blows of the food and energy crises, aggravated by Russia's war in Ukraine. When people are struggling, Wyne adds, they'll look to their governments for solutions.
"And if they feel that they're not getting satisfactory answers," he warns, "we can't understate the potential for significant political unrest."
How can we get unbanked people to go digital?
Sending remittances can be prohibitively expensive. How come?
It costs a lot to manage cash in a secure way for unbanked people, Rubén Salazar, global head of Visa Direct, says during a livestream conversation on closing the global digital gap hosted by GZERO in partnership with Visa.
But some players are making progress in reducing costs, which the UN wants to cap at 3% by the end of the decade.
For Salazar, we need to tackle the problem holistically. That's why Visa has just inked a deal with Singaporean B2B payments platform Thunes to integrate digital wallets for unbanked people with Visa's digital payments network.
- What We're Watching: Digital payment lifelines for cash-strapped ... ›
- Hard Numbers: Americans use less cash, Africans heart mobile ... ›
- Hard Numbers: Mexicans benefit from US labor boom, UAE-Euro ... ›
- Money on the move - GZERO Media ›
- Remittances We're Watching: OFW superheroes, Central America ... ›