"Historically, microfinance institutions have offered mainly credit to a relatively narrow range of microentrepreneurs whose income hovers near their country's poverty line. Today, there is growing recognition that not all low income people are necessarily entrepreneurs, but all people need and use a variety of financial services, including savings. Just like everyone else, poor people need a wide range of financial services that are convenient, flexible, and reasonably priced. Access to savings, money transfers, and insurance are all needed. The challenge is to understand and meet this demand among increasingly poor and remote populations."[1]
"The poor have limited access to deposit services offered by formal or semi-formal institutions. The consequence of the scarce availability of appropriate savings services is that most poor people save in informal ways—by tucking cash under the mattress, buying animals or jewelry that can be sold off later, joining village savings circles, or giving money to neighbors for safekeeping. The problem with these methods of saving is that they are risky— cash can be stolen, animals can get sick, the neighbor can run off. They can also be fairly illiquid. It is impossible to cut off the leg of a cow and sell it if only a small amount of cash is needed."[2]