Community Development Innovation Review
The Community Development Innovation Review focuses on bridging the gap between theory and practice, from as many viewpoints as possible. The goal of this journal is to promote cross-sector dialogue around a range of emerging issues and related investments that advance economic resilience and mobility for low- and moderate-income communities.
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Fintech, Racial Equity, and an Inclusive Financial System
This issue of the Community Development Innovation Review examines the promise and pitfalls of financial technology, or fintech, for fostering racial equity and greater financial inclusion. Edited in partnership with the SF Fed’s Fintech team and Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program, this issue brings together a broad set of voices from people working in various roles—including in technology, community development, economic inclusion, regulation, and investment—to contextualize gaps in the financial system and consider ways to address them.
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Regulation to Build a More Inclusive Financial System and Drive Financial Health
Sean Creehan and Kaitlin Asrow, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Regulators play an important role in the fintech ecosystem. This article explores the tensions involved in the regulation of financial technologies.
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The Racialized Roots of Financial Exclusion
Rocio Sanchez-Moyano and Bina Patel Shrimali, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Why do racial differences in access to financial services persist despite existence of anti-discrimination and fair lending laws? This article describes the legacy of historical exclusion and current barriers to access.
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CDFIs’ Mission-Driven Orientation Is Critical to Making Financial Technology Work for Deep South Communities
Pearl Wicks and Diane Standaert, Hope Enterprise Corporation/Hope Credit Union/Hope Policy Institute
How can financial services technology be improved by leveraging the experiences of CDFIs serving historically underserved communities?
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Why Mission-Minded Fintechs May Be the Key to Closing the Savings Gap
Leigh Phillips, SaverLife
Nonprofit fintechs are well-positioned to develop and distribute financial tools to the people who need them most.
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The Tech-Enabled Social Safety Net: A Case Study of the EBT System
Julieta Cuéllar, Propel
A carefully-designed tech-enabled social safety net can improve experiences for people participating in government programs.
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Foreword
Laura Choi, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Ida Rademacher, Aspen Institute
Our economic and financial systems are at an important crossroads, where the promises of future innovation must be considered against the potential pitfalls of past and present inequities. This issue of the Community Development Innovation Review explores how the push for racial equity in our financial systems intersects with the growing field of financial technology, […]
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How Can Regulation Facilitate Financial Inclusion in Fintech?
Carol Evans and Karen Pence, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
How has fintech changed the assumptions that underpin consumer protection regulations and where do we go from here?
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Fundamentals of an Inclusive Financial System
Genevieve Melford, Tim Shaw, and Mack Wallace, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
This article provides a vision for an inclusive financial system: what it entails, what it does, and the benefits it will bring, both widespread and reparative.
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The Next Frontier: Expanding Credit Inclusion with New Data and Analytical Techniques
Kelly Thompson Cochran, FinRegLab
New types of data and analysis can promote financial inclusion, but care is needed to ensure new techniques do not amplify inequities.