People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future
The report summarizes the findings and recommendations developed and agreed by the Task Force since its inception in November 2018. It is based on an extensive engagement with stakeholders and research. It sets out an ambitious but achievable set of recommendations that could make a major difference in achieving our collective global goals. The Task Force has set out five catalytic opportunities to move public and private money into alignment with the SDGs. The digitalization will make a difference by giving people greater control over how global finance – their own money – is used. Whether it is channeled through markets or through state intermediaries, global finance is accountable to ordinary people. Taxpayers hold governments to account, while savers and investors need to hold financial institutions to account. Digitalization of finance must be inclusive and empowering so that it becomes a force for good.Currently, 3.6 billion people worldwide – including a disproportionate number of women – lack the resources and capabilities to take advantage of the digital world. Addressing this gap will contribute to the economic resilience of communities and national economies. It will also address gender inequality by enabling women to have greater power over how they make, spend, save, and control their money. Today’s report also highlights the importance of institutional arrangements to steer digital finance into alignment with the SDGs. The continued dislocation between our collective commitment to the SDGs, and decision-making around public financing, cannot continue.
