For many people around the world, banking is easy: swipe a card, check a balance online, visit an ATM, or make a payment using a smartphone. Without these tools, how do families manage their finances, grow a small business, or send a payment to a relative? There are 2 billion “unbanked” people around the world who lack access to these basic financial services.

Over the past decade, the annual CGAP Photo Contest has documented the remarkable ways that access to formal financial services can improve poor people’s day-to-day activities. During this time much has changed. New innovations, such as digital financial services, offer great promise for better serving poor customers. Now in its 10th year, the annual CGAP Photo Contest aims to demonstrate the ways financial inclusion can help poor people transition out of poverty and lead more financially secure lives.

This year, we are looking for photos that touch on the following themes:
Digital financial services and mobile banking
Women’s use of financial services
Microfinance for small business enterprises
Smallholder farmers and their families