Opening an account is not the same as becoming financially secure. A household can have digital payments and still be one illness, failed harvest or income shock away from expensive debt. The next test for financial inclusion is therefore not simply whether people enter the financial system, but whether the system helps them withstand disruption and recover. Digital payment histories can support savings, credit and insurance for people with little formal financial history, while partnerships between banks, microfinance institutions and fintechs can extend services beyond traditional customer bases. The panel examines what resilience looks like in practice and which products, data models and partnerships measurably improve financial security for informal workers, women and small businesses.

Most stablecoins in circulation are linked to the US dollar. For economies seeking to reduce their dependence on the dollar, that creates a fundamental contradiction: the same technology that can lower the cost of payments may also make dollar-denominated money easier to use. At the same time, local-currency settlement is advancing through bilateral arrangements, regional initiatives and domestic payment systems. The roundtable examines that tension directly. When do stablecoins solve a genuine user problem, and when do they reinforce existing monetary dependence? What would a credible local-currency digital instrument require in reserves, governance, redemption and supervision? And where does local-currency settlement provide a better answer than creating another form of digital money?