Digital finance services (DFS) are critical for USAID programming because financial services are an important “pull” that bring many beneficiaries into the digital ecosystem. This was especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many individuals were forced to pay for goods and services digitally for the first time. Because DFS exist across geographies and digital ecosystems, it forms the foundation of a variety of digital services in other sectors, like humanitarian assistance, agriculture, and food security—underscoring the importance of DFS in introducing new users to digital tools for the first time.

Download this briefer to learn more about digital literacy in the context of digital financial services.