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32 Results
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Banking Without Banks: What Africa Can Teach the U.S. About Financial Access
Africa’s fintech innovations, including Ghana’s digital onboarding, Nigeria’s collaborative fintech ecosystem, and Kenya’s mobile money success, show how accessibility-first financial systems can dramatically expand financial inclusion and economic opportunity.
5 min read
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Why Campuses are Becoming Testbeds for Digital Finance
Universities like Bowie State University are becoming key testing grounds for inclusive digital finance, where students with lived experience of financial exclusion help design more equitable systems. Its partnership with the Interledger Foundation shows how education and community engagement can shape the future of accessible financial infrastructure.
8 min read
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You Don’t Need 3 Apps to Pay Your Friends: Why U.S. Payments Feel Broken
U.S. digital payments feel fragmented because apps don’t interoperate, forcing users to juggle multiple platforms.
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Why We Weighed In on the Federal Reserve’s Payment Account Proposal
Interledger Foundation advocates for inclusive, secure, and low-cost direct Fed payment access for non-banks.
5 min read
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Africa Doesn't Have a Payments Technology Problem. It Has a Business Model Problem.
Africa’s payment systems struggle not because of missing technology but because of flawed business models and commercial design. To achieve adoption, systems must prioritize free P2P transfers, better accessibility, and simple proxy-based addressing, alongside regulatory reforms that overcome incumbent resistance.
4 min read
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The Web Isn’t Free
The internet isn’t truly free: we “pay” with our time, attention, and data, which fuel platforms designed to capture and manipulate us. Alternatives like Web Monetization aim to restore privacy, fairness, and control by letting users directly support creators.
5 min read
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What’s Happened in December
As we come to the end of the year and review the past 2 months, we see that we have continued to make a significant impact in helping to close the financial exclusion gap worldwide. The surge in digital financial services is a major enabler as we continue to adopt services such as mobile banking, mobile money accounts, internet banking, and digital payments. Many have called this period a breakthrough moment for financial inclusion.
3 min read
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Open by Design: Confronting Harmful Patterns in Digital Finance
Interledger Ambassador Caroline Sinders warns that harmful or manipulative design patterns in digital finance can exploit vulnerable users and undermine trust, calling for transparent, user-centered, and inclusive design standards to ensure ethical financial technology.
5 min read
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Reimagining e-commerce and social media
ILF Ambassador Gavin Chait envisions a federated, community-led e-commerce model through Hop Sauna that empowers creators with autonomy, inclusivity, and interoperable payments—reimagining online commerce and social media as decentralized and equitable spaces.
4 min read
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The Multiple Sides of Friction: The Good, the Bad, and the How to Use it
The article highlights how friction in design can harm users when misused but also enhance safety, consent, and reflection when applied thoughtfully. Used well, it becomes a valuable tool for protecting user agency and trust, especially in financial and sensitive digital products.
11 min read