Open access to financial platforms and tools.
An emerging class of financial platforms and tools are enabling individuals and communities to forgo traditional institutions like banks, insurers and municipalities to transact with one another in safe and secure ways.
Whether offering peer-based loans, funding neighborhood projects or sharing access to resources, these initiatives help strengthen relationships and empower local economies.
Innovators
Community innovators developing new modes of access for financing businesses:
Featured Profile
Implications
- Peer-to-peer financial systems bring security and accountability to the current market of untraceable informal transactions.
- Informal trade networks allow unused resources to be reallocated to those who can utilize them.
- By circumventing traditional barriers such as credit history and transaction fees, digital systems help individuals gain experience, confidence and a positive financial record.
5 millionmillennials do not have a checking account — nearly half say it’s due to a “distrust of banks.”
A New Look At Employees And Pay In America, The Center For Generational Kinetics, 2016.
$5.5 billionAmount in loans issued by US P2P platforms In 2014.
Peer Pressure, PwC, 2015.
9.36% is the average ROI for peer-to-peer investors.
Lending Club, NSR Platform, 2015.
54%Increase in “Do-It-Yourself” fundraising campaigns in 2015.
State of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising, DonorDrive, 2016.
Examples
Additional global thought-leaders and organizations are creating new technologies and services to expand access for all.
BD Bacata
Crowdfunding platform Prodigy Network enables urban regeneration by democratizing commercial real estate assets
WorldCover
Crop insurance provides safety net to farmers in the developing world through transparent and low cost peer-to-peer platform
Lo3energy
Community energy market enabled by blockchain so that neighbors can sell surplus energy to each other
Lendedu
Startup helps students refinance their loans in a secure peer-to-peer marketplace