CGAP will accelerate its quest for technology solutions that can bring critical financial services to billions more of the world’s poor thanks to the $24mn grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. CGAP has been providing for the past few years an increasing range of technology services to MFIs and financial institutions. Most of this funding will support pilots to expand access to financial services with new technology approaches (using mobile phones, POS and card based technologies for deposits, payments, remittances). CGAP has selected 9 project ideas for further development together with institutions in Colombia, Kenya,Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa and the Maldives. This is very good news as the majority of the unbanked live in rural and remote areas where the nearest bank is very far away.