Evidence, Hope, and Hype: A Review of the Literature Concerning Commercial Relationships Between Savings Groups and Financial Service Providers

This is a review of relevant and accessible literature concerning a subject that is attracting increasing interest and investment from donors and facilitating agencies, namely creating commercial relationships between Savings Groups (SGs) and Financial Service Providers (FSPs).

Various forms of commercial relationships can exist between SGs and FSPs. FSPs can provide savings, credit, insurance, or payment services, either to individual members of the SG or to the group as a whole. This paper classifies the initiatives described in the literature using the following typology of linkages:

• Individual savings accounts, made available to the member usually as part of a package of services offered to the group and its members.
• Group savings accounts, in which the group keeps its financial assets with a financial institution.
• Individual credit, which does not create a liability for the group.
• Loans to the group as a whole, or loans to individual members, which are guaranteed by the group, thus creating a liability for all the members.