Emerging Guidelines for Linking Youth to Financial Services

This paper discusses the results of a global survey conducted in 2009 by Making Cents International on the state of practice and future perspectives of linking youth to financial services. It presents findings of NGOs and financial institutions that are pioneering youth-inclusive and youth-specific financial products. The paper synthesizes survey findings and lessons learned into six emerging guidelines for linking young people to financial services.

The paper explains concerns about defining and achieving impact, sustainability, scale and a favourable regulatory environment for youth-inclusive financial services. It concludes with practitioners’ visions for this field by 2020. To achieve desired impact on youth and be able to offer quality integrated financial services at scale and on a sustainable basis, financial services providers should:

• Involve youth in market research and product development;
• Develop products and services that reflect the diversity of youth;
• Ensure that youth have safe and supportive spaces;
• Link youth to complementary non-financial services;
• Focus on core competencies by utilizing partnerships;
• Involve community.