Payment cards and the unbanked: prospects and challenges.

Abstract

On July 13-14, 2005, the Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia hosted a conference to better understand the ways in which electronic payment tools are being adapted to meet the financial needs of underserved consumers. This event, “Payment Cards and the Unbanked: Prospects and Challenges,” brought together a range of perspectives from the banking industry, community development arena, academic community, and regulatory groups, as well as providers of new and emerging payment technologies. These participants examined the opportunities and challenges in providing financial tools that are less costly than those offered in the alternative financial sector — check cashers, money transmitters, payday lenders, and the like — but that, at the same time, meet the financial needs of underserved consumers and are economically viable for traditional and emerging providers.Payment systems ; Unbanked