New Institute for Money, Technology, and Financial Inclusion Funded by Gates Foundation

More news on mobile banking for the world's poorest.  The University of California, Irvine has announced a $1.7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a research institute focused on the growing use of mobile technology in providing banking and financial services to individuals in developing countries.

According to the institute's press release, the new Institute for Money, Technology, and Financial Inclusion will "explore how the world's poorest individuals spend, store, and save money and will study how these habits are affected by the emerging mobile banking industry, or "m-banking," which could make financial services and the security they provide available to millions of the world's poor for the first time."   The Institute researh will also conduct research in developing countries, host conferences, and create an archive on the emerging m-banking industry for use by researchers around the nation and the world. The Gates Foundation has committed funding for the institute through August 2011. The Institute does not have a website yet but launched its existence with a workshop on digital money on September 18.   Related links:

• UC Irvine Institute for Money, Technology, and Financial Inclusion
• CGAP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
• Center for Financial Services Innovation
• Financial Services for the Poor, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation