Payments Technology Brings Financial Inclusion to the Forefront

Merrill Brooks Smith is a Fort Lauderdale, FL, resident who founded the Atlanta, GA, firm InComm Payments in the 1990s. Focused on innovation, Merrill Brooks Smith carefully follows trends in the payments and financial technology sphere.

As explored in a CNBC article, technology accessible on devices has been a major driver in providing financial services to the world’s underbanked populations. This ranges from microloans to small entrepreneurs to enabling crypto and stock investments by those who haven’t previously been active in this sphere. Digital platforms ease the challenges of purchasing and transacting assets quickly and with minimal fees.

With the digital accessibility of banking, those who have been historically excluded from the financial system now have several convenient options. At the same time, next-generation lenders are employing non-traditional data in generating credit ratings. This enables potential borrowers in emerging markets to qualify for loans in situations where they haven’t established credit or a formal banking relationship. Many of these transactional capacities, ranging from investments to loans, are enabled by payment processors such as InComm.