ABSTRACT
Technological innovations in communication and electronic storage technologies have had a remarkable impact on how even remote communities in the extractive sector manage their finances. There is an emerging consensus that "financial inclusion"—increasing access of poor households to financial services—is linked to overcoming poverty, reducing income disparities, and increasing economic growth. Barriers to financial inclusion in the Pacific include challenging geography, poor infrastructure, natural disasters, persistent poverty, subsistence livelihoods, and relatively low levels of financial competency. The Center for Financial Inclusion was launched in 2013 to promote Papua New Guinea's financial inclusion agenda; to facilitate improvement of financial services delivery; to establish mechanisms for enhanced information exchange; and to promote gender equity in financial services and financial education. Mobile money services are perhaps the most promising way to deliver financial services profitably and at scale to the poor. Mobile money includes "mobile financial services," "mobile banking," "e-money," "mobile wallet," and "mobile payments".
