Microsavings is a hot new idea in development economics.
It addresses a basic problem faced by many poor people.
Let's say you have a small amount of money, say, equal in value to $150
and you want to set up a savings account.
If you take this money to a large bank, they'll turn you away
or maybe they'll even laugh at you.
The cost of processing the papers, setting up the account, and dealing with you
means it's not worth while for them to take care of your very small deposit.
The results is that a lot of this money just sits around the homes of poor people
and it's vulnerable to fire, it's vulnerable to theft.
In fact, a lot of savings gets destroyed by some kind of catastrophe
or maybe it's taken by someone visiting the home.
And a lot of poor people, in fact, would actually be willing to pay money
to have some opportunity to save their money in a secure place.
The microsavings phenomenon is evolving through a few different routes.
Nonprofits for instance are trying to set up or encourage opportunities
for very poor individuals to be able to save very small sums of money.
For instance, the Gate's Foundation has been very active in this area.
Another medium for microsavings has been actually the cell phone or technology.
Using cell phones in some parts of the world,
it is possible to save and store your money
and transfer it to other people while using electronic technology.
Finally, banks in many countries face burdens and regulations.
To the extent these regulations can be moved,
it will be cheaper to supply banking services
and banks will be more interested in serving the poor.
That too will make microsavings easier.
Microsavings is, in general, considered a very promising idea for the future.
If you'd like to do more reading in the area,
here is one good paper on the topic.