At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) hosted a roundtable discussion with Juan Jiménez Mayor, Prime Minister, Republic of Peru, Dr. Mauricio Cárdenas, Minister of Finance, Republic of Colombia, Florencio B. Abad, Secretary of Budget and Management, Republic of the Philippines.

The room was full of over 65 thought leaders from the government, banking, NGO, agriculture and consumer industries discussing the exciting global movement to shift from cash to electronic payments.

The rich roundtable discussion moderated by The Economist's Economics Editor, Zanny Minton Beddoes, focussed on how the transition from cash to electronic payments has the ability to achieve shared goals in emerging markets and developing countries of increasing transparency and combating corruption, reducing costs and accelerating financial inclusion as well as stimulating long-term economic growth.

"Electronic payments are a powerful tool in development," said Prime Minister Mayor. With Florencio B. Abad, Secretary of Budget and Management, Republic of the Philippines adding that "digitization of government promotes transparency."

Insightful thoughts about the benefits and challenges of making this transition were shared by Robert Annibale, Global Director of Microfinance, Citi, Bill Sheedy, Group President, Americas, Visa Inc., Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme, Neal Keny-Guyer, Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Corps, Yawar Shah, Chairman of the Board of Directors, SWIFT and Marc Bichler, Executive Secretary of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and many others.

In response to an audience question about the role of governments in accelerating the pace of change, Minister Dr. Mauricio Cárdenas, Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Republic of Colombia said, "Sometimes governments get in the way," and shared Colombia's plan to reduce transaction taxes and promote smart regulation to achieve their vision.

Together with the founding organizations, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citi, Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network, UNCDF, USAID and Visa Inc., BTCA is pleased to welcome even more partners to the Alliance that are dedicated to making this transition a reality.

BTCA's newest partner is the government of Afghanistan who will join the governments of Colombia, Kenya, Peru and the Philippines in a commitment to transition from cash to electronic payments.

"We are thrilled to be part of the BTCA," said Marc Bichler, UNCDF Executive Secretary. 'This alliance was triggered by forward looking and forward thinking actors from the public and the private spheres. It uses new technology to solve old problems and it works hand in hand with the partner governments who stay in the lead. This is how you build partnerships. This is how you organize effectiveness!"

Sharing the mission of the Better Than Cash Alliance with many of the attendees at the World Economic Forum has created even more momentum behind the movement to transition to electronic payments. With 2.5 billion adults-more than a third of the world's population-excluded from the formal financial sector, the Better Than Cash Alliance is determined to quickly move this transition forward making real progress in the year ahead.

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