Structured Finance

Impact Entrepreneur and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors have released, Building an Impact Economy: A Call to Action for the Philanthropic Sector. The document is a distilled version of the longer report that features a roadmap and call to action for philanthropic organizations "to use their capital in a way that more directly supports the development of an impact economy; and to align their investments and actions overall with the underlying values inherent in an impact economy.”

Twenty-four percent of UK SMEs believe that banks have failed to change the way they behave since the global financial crisis in 2008. The survey of UK SMEs from CivilisedBank, the new UK business bank with a Local Banker network, also reveals that over half (55%) of those surveyed believe that it is not a priority for banks to act in a ‘civilised’ manner.

After the significant events both in the UK and globally in 2016 (EU referendum, Donald Trump etc), the first half of 2017 included a snap general election and the start of the Brexit negotiations. This report provides an overview of how SMEs have reacted to these events over time. 

This report developed by the Global Acceptance team at Mastercard recognizes the important role for merchant acceptance of electronic payments in advancing Financial Inclusion.  Furthermore, it moves the conversation forward by uncovering insights into how to advance electronic payment acceptance at the base of the pyramid.
 
In the report, several critical barriers to the acceptance of electronic payments by Small and Micro Businesses (SMBs) are identified.  These include: Economic factors; Risk; Distribution challenges; and Friction.