21 Jul, 2025

Mobile Phones Fuel Surge in Savings: What the Global Trend Means for Laos

More adults than ever in low- and middle-income countries now have bank or other financial accounts, leading to a rise in formal saving, according to the World Bank Group’s Global Findex 2025 report. This momentum in financial inclusion is creating new economic opportunities.  Mobile-phone technology played a key role in the surge, with 10 percent of adults in developing economies using a mobile-money account to save, a 5-percentage point increase from 2021. The global shift toward digital finance is now raising questions and hopes about its potential to reshape financial inclusion in Laos.The report, released last week, shows that 40 percent of adults in low- and middle-income countries saved money in a financial account in 2024, marking the fastest increase in formal saving in over a decade. This represents a 16 percentage point rise since 2021.A key contributor to this trend is the use of mobile-money accounts. Ten percent of adults in these economies are now saving through mobile platforms, a significant jump of five percentage points in just three years.A Global Shift, a Local OpportunityThe East Asia and Pacific region now leads the world in both smartphone adoption and financial account ownership, with eighty-six percent of adults owning a smartphone and eighty-three percent holding some form of financial account.Laos is already advancing its digital financial infrastructure. In recent years, the country has taken measured steps to digitize its financial infrastructure. The Bank of the Lao PDR has introduced mobile-money systems and digital financial services to underserved areas. The government’s ongoing National Financial Inclusion Strategy aims to improve account access, particularly for women and rural populations.These national goals are supported by concrete action. In 2023, the Bank of the Lao PDR launched a pilot of the country’s first digital currency, and enabled QR code payments across borders, starting with Cambodia and later expanding to Vietnam. These systems aim to reach rural users who may lack access to traditional bank branches or smartphones.The Digital Kip trial and QR code payments were designed to reach the 70 percent of Lao adults who were unbanked in 2023. In January 2025, Laos and Vietnam officially launched a cross-border QR payment network, helping to deepen financial access for small merchants and travelers, while promoting cashless transactions.Digital Finance and Gender InclusionThe new report also highlights significant progress in closing the gender gap. In low- and middle-income countries, women’s account ownership has nearly doubled, from 37 percent in 2011 to 73 percent in 2024. “Financial inclusion has the potential to improve lives and transform entire economies,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “Digital finance can convert this potential into reality, but several ingredients need to be in place. At the World Bank Group, we’re working on all of them. We’re helping countries get their people access to new or improved digital IDs. We’re constructing social protection programs with digital cash-transfer systems that deliver resources directly to those in need. We’re modernizing payment systems and helping to remove regulatory roadblocks, so that people and businesses have the financing they need to innovate and create jobs.”Yet risks remain. The Findex Digital Connectivity Tracker 2025 found that while 86 percent of adults in developing economies own a mobile phone, only about half use a password or other protection, raising concerns about the safety of digital savings.

16 Jul, 2025

Trump Urges GOP Support for Stablecoin, Crypto Clarity Bills During Crypto Week

It's been billed as "Crypto Week" in Washington, D.C., and President Trump has chimed in."The House will soon VOTE on a tremendous Bill to Make America the UNDISPUTED, NUMBER ONE LEADER in Digital Assets - Nobody does it better!" Trump wrote Tuesday in a post on Truth Social. "The GENIUS Act is going to put our Great Nation lightyears ahead of China, Europe, and all others, who are trying endlessly to catch up, but they just can’t do it. Digital Assets are the FUTURE, and we are leading by a lot!"The U.S. House of Representatives will consider two different initiatives this week: the stablecoin GENIUS bill and the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The House will also be considering a bill that would block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency directly to individuals.GENIUS would require stablecoins to be fully backed by U.S. dollars or similarly liquid assets, mandate annual audits for issuers with a market cap of more than $50 billion, and establish guidelines for foreign issuance.Meanwhile, the Clarity Act establishes a clear crypto regulatory framework by defining the roles of the SEC and CFTC, while also mandating retail disclosures and the separation of customer and corporate funds."If these bills pass through Congress during Crypto Week and eventually get signed into law, we've entered a new era," Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said Tuesday. "Crypto is going mainstream, risk is being reduced, and Wall Street is moving into the space in a big way. No wonder we’re at all-time highs."The price of bitcoin hit an all-time high on Monday and currently trades around $116,800. The GMCI 30, which represents a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, is up more than 15% over the past."Get the first Vote done this afternoon (ALL REPUBLICANS SHOULD VOTE YES!)," Trump said in his post. "This is our moment - Digital Assets, GENIUS, Clarity! It is all part of Making America Great Again, BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE."Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, once again slammed President Trump's crypto connections on Monday."[Both bills] would legitimize and legalize the unprecedented crypto corruption by the president of the United States," Waters wrote in an op-ed. On Friday, she said, "these bills would make Congress complicit in Trump’s unprecedented crypto scam – one that has personally enriched himself, his entire family, and the billionaire insiders in his cabinet, all while defrauding investors."Bloomberg recently estimated that President Trump has profited $620 million from his family's crypto ventures, which include World Liberty Financial and the TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins. The Trump family also has a 20% stake in the mining firm American Bitcoin, which is expected to go public."We are leading the World," Trump's post concluded, "and will work hard with the Senate and the House to get even more Legislation on this passed!"