The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Banking Center at Tilburg University, and the Centre for Economic Policy Research and Review of Finance hosted a two-day conference in London to discuss the state of banking in emerging markets.Taking place on 5-6 September, 2013, the conference brought together leading researchers to discuss recent developments in empirical banking research.

On June 24 - 25, 2013, the Yale Savings and Payments Research Fund, under the Financial Inclusion Program at Innovations for Poverty Action, hosted a conference around evidence on innovations in savings and payments research in Kampala, Uganda. The event showcased results from recent evaluations in Africa on child and youth savings, the impact of reducing cost barriers to saving among the poor, behavioral impediments to saving, using mobile phones for behavioral change, and the adoption and impact of mobile money.

As access to increasingly sophisticated financial services expands, the gap between access and the financial capability of individuals - the ability to take healthy financial decisions - widens.Bridging this gap requires improving knowledge and information around financial services and improving the tools used for decision making. The conference included presentations by leading development economists, as well as panel discussions with key practitioners and policymakers.