Together, we can make a Difference

Inclusion

The Inclusion Working Group has the specific purpose to inform and collaborate with government, regulators and third sector bodies, providing clarity on innovations and solutions in payments that can reduce financial exclusion and the poverty premium. It seeks to achieve this by collaborating with industry bodies, developing thought-leadership campaigns, and informing regulatory and legislative decisions.

Supported by
Mastercard logo

What is a working group?

The Payments Association’s working groups are comprised of industry experts from across the payments chain, who share the mission of driving industry change to shape the future payments landscape and improve the industry on behalf of members of the association. Being a member of a working group is a fantastic opportunity to grow your network and gain valuable industry insights. All working group members are representatives of organisations with The Payments Association membership.

Each working group consists of a Core Committee and Supporter Members.

  • Committee members are engaged and active participants who commit to making regular contributions to outputs and monthly meetings. They are expected to commit 1-2 hours per month towards the working group.
  • Supporter members attend one meeting a quarter and receive the meeting notes from the other meetings.

Strategy and approach

Our mission

“Improving inclusion and creating better financial services for long underserved individuals and communities, remains vital. I’m proud to be part of an industry that has been innovating to improve people’s lives for many years, and it’s a privilege to continue this important work through the efforts of the Inclusion Working Group and the Payments Association.”

Pooja Bhachu, Director of Public Policy at Mastercard, Inclusion Working Group Lead

Team members

Andrew Martin

SMEB
CEO

David Bailey

Santander
Head of Payment Strategy

Jos Henson-Grič

Flex
Founder

Kit Yarker

EML Payments
Director, Product and Propositions

Neil Harris

b-yond
CEO

Noyan Nihat

Privat3 Money
Inclusion Working Group Project Mentor; COO

Pooja Bhachu

Mastercard
Inclusion Working Group Project Lead; Director Public Policy UK and Ireland

Shaun May

NatWest
Strategy and Innovation Manager

Simon Thomas

allpay
Senior Project Manager

Tribh Grewal

Discover Financial Services
Head of Alt Pay

Members involved

Redefining Community Finance

The Payments Association, in collaboration with our working group benefactor Mastercard, are leading a research initiative into the accessibility of community finance and how it can better serve the financially underserved and excluded in the UK. 

These interviews were recorded at the roundtables that were hosted at 2024’s PAY360 conference and capture some of the attendees thoughts on the topic. 

The roundtables focused on on how community finance-based solutions are already supporting financial inclusion for underserved and unbanked individuals, and importantly, what more needs to be done by industry and policymakers to further unlock the inclusion benefits of community finance.

Outputs

How we harness payments innovation to help long underserved individuals to build their financial capabilities, resiliency and long-term financial security, has never been more important. The working group launched an initiative exploring the potential for payments and broader fintech innovation to help mitigate the impact of rising cost of living including an industry-leading report delivered to MPs at a Parliamentary Breakfast.

Financial inclusion has long been synonymized with the 1.7 billion unbanked across the world. This initiative highlighted the needs of significant communities beyond the unbanked, who  seek financial products that accommodate their values and beliefs.

The Inclusion Working Group has explored numerous ways in which financial inclusion can be aided by innovative technology. They have produced a whitepaper that investigates how fintech innovation is increasing access to affordable credit and tackling financial exclusion. Additionally, they have created a series of blogs from a series of interviews with fintech experts, to explore how crypto helps aid Financial Inclusion. 

Through a series of interviews, a podcast and a report, the Inclusion Working Group set out to find out what it means to be a sustainable fintech and where to start. The report, ‘Sustainability Superheroes: A how-to guide to ESG for fintechs’, provided insights from several fintech leaders.

The Inclusion Working Group explored how sustainability can be feasible in fintech companies. Josh Berle (Mastercard), Frederick Rugginz (JP Morgan), Kit Yarker (PPS) and Charles Radclyffe (EthicsGrade), discussed this issue for our Insights Podcast.

Get in touch

Interested in joining our Inclusion Working Group?

Please fill out the form to indicate your interest in receiving more information about The Payments Association’s Inclusion Working Group. A member of our Project Team will be in touch with you shortly.

Membership

Are you a member of The Payments Association?

Member benefits include free tickets, discounts to more tickets, elevated brand visibility and more. Sign in to book tickets and find out more.

Welcome

Log in to access complimentary passes or discounts and access exclusive content as part of your membership. An auto-login link will be sent directly to your email.

Having trouble signing?

We use an auto-login link to ensure optimum security for your members hub. Simply enter your professional work e-mail address into the input area and you’ll receive a link to directly access your account.

First things first

Have you set up your Member account yet? If not, click here to do so.

Still not receiving your auto-login link?

Instead of using passwords, we e-mail you a link to log in to the site. This allows us to automatically verify you and apply member benefits based on your e-mail domain name.

Please click the button below which relates to the issue you’re having.

I didn't receive an e-mail

Tip: Check your spam

Sometimes our e-mails end up in spam. Make sure to check your spam folder for e-mails from The Payments Association

Tip: Check “other” tabs

Most modern e-mail clients now separate e-mails into different tabs. For example, Outlook has an “Other” tab, and Gmail has tabs for different types of e-mails, such as promotional.

Tip: Click the link within 60 minutes

For security reasons the link will expire after 60 minutes. Try submitting the login form again and wait a few seconds for the e-mail to arrive.

Tip: Only click once

The link will only work one time – once it’s been clicked, the link won’t log you in again. Instead, you’ll need to go back to the login screen and generate a new link.

Tip: Delete old login e-mails

Make sure you’re clicking the link on the most recent e-mail that’s been sent to you. We recommend deleting the e-mail once you’ve clicked the link.

Tip: Check your security policies

Some security systems will automatically click on links in e-mails to check for phishing, malware, viruses and other malicious threats. If these have been clicked, it won’t work when you try to click on the link.

Need to change your e-mail address?

For security reasons, e-mail address changes can only be complete by your Member Engagement Manager. Please contact the team directly for further help.

Still got a question?