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 CFSI Releases Final Compass Principles Paper, Seeks Compass Commitments
On April 26, CFSI released the final Compass Principles white paper. "Compass Principles: Guiding Excellence in Financial Services" outlines aspirational guidelines that encourage the financial services industry to be proactive, creative, and customer- focused when designing products and services. By using the Compass Principles, financial services companies can be profitable while at the same time help customers make day-to-day progress in the short term and build assets for the future.
Late last year, we released a public draft of the Compass Principles white paper and sought feedback from providers, consumer advocates, policy makers, regulators, and other experts. The insights and feedback collected have enhanced the principles and ensured that the framework in the final white paper is as robust, comprehensive, and effective as possible. The Compass Principles initiative is supported, in part, by the Ford Foundation and Omidyar Network.
CFSI is partnering with a variety of companies to craft formal commitments to integrate the Compass Principles into their business through approaches such as making enhancements to existing products and services, or developing new products and services with an emphasis on improving the financial lives of their customers. Plastyc, Inc. and Core Innovation Capital are the first companies to complete CFSI's application process and finalize a Compass Commitment pledge.
To learn more about the vision, value, and practices of the Compass Principles articulated in the white paper, register for the webinar hosted by CFSI on May 8, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. CDT on the CFSI website. To learn more about making a Compass Commitment, visit the special section ofCFSI's website focused on Compass Commitments.
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CFSI Partners with NYSE Euronext in Celebration of Financial Literacy Week
On April 13, CFSI had the honor of participating in the New York Stock Exchange's Financial Literacy Week activities. Approximately 50 leaders from across the financial services industry came together to participate in the CFSI led event, "Ensuring Consumers' Financial Success through Innovation and Technology," to discuss how we can embrace technology and innovation to promote the financial success of underserved consumers. After the event, CFSI had the honor of ringing the closing bell.
To see more photos from the NYSE event, click here.
See a summary of the event, links to blogs, and presentations.
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| Only Six Weeks Until the Underbanked Forum-Register Today!
The 7th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum in San Francisco, California, on June 13-15 is coming up soon! Register now!
We are offering readers of our newsletter a special discount: register with code CFSINL to receive $200 off your conference registration fee.
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Still Accepting Core Innovation Challenge Nominations until May 4!
Core Innovation Capital announced the launch of the second annual Core Underbanked Innovators Challenge and is seeking nominations for the best new product or service for the financially underserved in America. The deadline for submissions is this Friday, May 4!
The four best nominations will be invited to demonstrate their products and answer audience questions on the main stage at CFSI's 7th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum. The nominations will be put to a real-time audience vote to determine the winner. Along with an audience of industry VIPs and investors, the selected innovation will receive a broad public announcement and a $10,000 cash prize. Learn more about the Core Innovation Challenge and click here to enter your nomination.
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Voter's Choice Winners Revealed for Roundtable Café Discussions!
Sponsored by:
CFSI is happy to announce the winners of the Roundtable Café discussions to be presented at the 7th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum in San Francisco on June 13-15, 2012. Nearly 600 individuals voted for their favorite topic based on each of the four Compass Principles. The results are in, and the winners from each track are:
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Lexis Nexis
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The Use of Alternative Data in Credit Risk Decisions for the Underbanked
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FIS
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Fraud and the Underbanked: Trends, Statistics and Mitigation Strategies
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Innovations
for Poverty Action
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Building Behavioral Economics into Financial Product Design
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Urban Institute
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Meeting Small-Dollar Credit Needs: Serving Low-Income Savers
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Congratulations to these Voters Choice Roundtable Café Sessions!
To see the full list of Roundtable Café sessions click here to see the Conference Agenda.
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"Early Learnings from the Financial Capability Innovation Fund" Webinar Recording Released
In celebration of Financial Literacy Month, Citi Foundation and CFSI held a webinar on April 19 about the new strategies being tested by the Financial Capability Innovation Fund.
The following innovators shared project status updates, early learnings, and future plans for expansion:
- Clarifi (formerly Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley)
- Co-opportunity, Inc.
- Filene Research Institute
- Mission Asset Fund
- Piggymojo
For more information on the webinar and to hear the recording click here.
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| Focus Your Mobile Strategy on the Underbanked
By Jennifer Tescher and Kate Marshall Dole
This month, President & CEO, Jennifer Tescher, and Analyst, Innovation and Research, Kate Marshall Dole highlight the underbanked consumer's use of mobile devices for financial transactions.
Although digital services are more accessible than ever before, low- and moderate-income consumers are still less likely to have home internet access. Mobile devices help bridge that gap and a surprising number of consumers are using mobile to manage their finances. With convenience as a driving factor, underbanked consumers are using mobile devices to manage their money more than the average consumer.
See the full article here on American Banker.
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CFSI Staff Experience an Afternoon as Underbanked Consumers
On the afternoon of April 11, CFSI staff put themselves into the shoes of underbanked consumers. CFSI split up into teams and competed with one another to see which team could perform the most transactions within a 90 minute time limit in the Chicago Loop. These transactions were representative of most common financial services that average underbanked consumers typically utilize. The exercise was helpful for all of CFSI staff to experience firsthand the real financial lives of underbanked consumers.
To see more photos on the CFSI Flickr site click here.
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Prepaid Case Study from Payments Card Center
Given CFSI's efforts to help define prepaid quality, CFSI is highlighting "A Prepaid Case Study: Ready Credit's General-Purpose & Transit-Fare Programs" published by the Payments Card Center of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve. The article provides information and insights into the development of the prepaid industry.
The article also:
- Explores turning transit cards into another opportunity to offer the underserved access to a transaction account.
- Provides data and information about how Ready Credit's GPR customers use and view both their GPR and transit cards.
- Highlights a project done in conjunction with CFSI involving email messaging.
See the full case study here on the CFSI website.
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News From Core Innovation Capital
CFSI's strategic partner Core Innovation Capital's Managing Partner Arjan Schütte blogs on important issues affecting underbanked consumers as well as innovative financial services products.
Read Arjan's blog posts:
See more information on Core Innovation Capital.
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CFSI Speaking Engagements
- May 1-2, 2012 | Assets@21| Washington, DC. Jennifer Tescher, President & CEO, will be speaking at the Assets@21 "Lessons from the Past, Directions for the Future, a Symposium and Ideas Summit." Tescher will speak on accessing financial services, the changing nature of the marketplace and using policy to connect people to the right products and services.
- May 4, 2012 | Chicago Microfinance Conference| Chicago, IL.Jennifer Tescher, President & CEO, will be speaking on a panel titled "Innovations and New Products."
- May 21-23, 2012 | Net.Finance 2012| Phoenix, AZ. Arjan Schütte, Managing Partner of Core Innovation Capital, will be speaking at Net.Finance which includes topics of Mobile Banking/Payments, Analytics, Online Customer Experience, and Opportunities in Social Media.
- June 5, 2012 | The Power of Prepaid | National Harbor, MD.Rachel Schneider, Vice President, Innovation, Research, and Policy, will be speaking on a panel titled "Quality in Prepaid: A Force for Change in Consumers' Lives."
- June 13-15, 2012 | The 7th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum | San Francisco, CA. The Forum will highlight groundbreaking innovations and showcase efforts by leading financial services providers to help underserved consumers move toward financial prosperity.
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