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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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?

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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, […]

  • 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?

  • 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.

  • 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.