Where Aggregators – and Open APIs – Fit Into Financial Inclusion

How might we best foster innovation in financial technology for low-income consumers, through products and services that promote digital financial inclusion?

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Financial Sector Deepening Trust Tanzania partnered with BFA (Bankable Frontier Associates) and Selcom, a Tanzanian payments aggregator, to explore that question by examining the detailed role and abilities of aggregators in the digital finance space. The goal was to determine which key pieces of the ecosystem could benefit from the development of strategic initiatives to utilize, develop or disseminate Selcom’s tools as Open APIs.

The introduction of a truly Open API ecosystem is an exciting prospect for individuals and institutions interested in financial inclusion – digital financial providers, economists, technologists and developers alike. Building a successful business model, however, requires that the Open API is technically sound and that the financial inclusion community is included and encouraged to collaborate on innovative solutions.