Economic empowerment is about removing the structural barriers and systemic biases that degrade trust and entrench inequality. Just as Visa built a global network for electronic value exchange, the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute (VEEI) will provide a platform for the international exchange of policy ideas on Fostering Digital Equity and Inclusion, Unlocking Growth through Trade, and Imagining an Open Future for Payments.
of countries are exploring new ways to move money1
worth of global e-commerce flowed in 2018, equivalent to nearly a third of global GDP 2
1.7 billion people lacked access to formal financial services in 20173
Dr. Barbara Kotschwar is the Executive Director of the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute, leading the team of fellows and setting the research agenda. Until October 2018 she worked with the Investment Policy team at the World Bank, spearheading thought leadership on services and investment policy. Before that she was a Fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) where her research focused on trade, investment, and regional integration. She has worked with the Inter-American Development Bank, World Trade Organization and Organization of American States and has advised governments and institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. She has published numerous books and articles on international trade, investment, and regional integration. Barbara holds a doctorate from Johns Hopkins SAIS and degrees in economics and political science from McGill University. She is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
Erin English has over fifteen years of experience in cybersecurity, financial crime analysis, and technology policy. He was most recently a Senior Security Strategist at Microsoft, where he helped drive the public policy side of the company’s cybersecurity, cloud, and blockchain strategies. Erin previously served for the better part of a decade in the U.S. Department of Treasury in the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and as the Department’s Financial Attaché in Pakistan during the global financial crisis. Prior to his work in Treasury, Erin worked in the Defense Intelligence Agency and as an officer in the Army. Erin holds a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a bachelor’s degree in history from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Mike Gallaher is a fellow at the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute. His work focuses on cross-border digital finance, financial inclusion, data flows, and digital trade. He was previously a policy researcher and advocate at a number of non-profit organizations, government agencies, and think tanks, including the Brookings Institution based in Washington, D.C. Mike holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Chad Harper has over twenty years of experience in financial services and payments leadership, consulting, and research. Chad worked for the Federal Reserve System for nearly two decades; he was most recently Vice President and Senior Payments Advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, where he advised leaders on payments issues and helped the Federal Reserve System advance payment initiatives. Prior to joining the Richmond Fed, Chad was Vice President of the Operations, Performance, and Finance functions in the Federal Reserve System’s Cash Product Office (CPO) headquartered at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In this capacity, he oversaw the FedCash® Services operational, financial planning, and market intelligence functions. At the Chicago Fed, Chad led market research initiatives that helped redesign the FedLine® service. Chad holds a master’s degree in public policy from Northwestern University, as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Seattle University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University.
Amina Tirana brings twenty-five years of experience in international development and financial services policy. Amina worked for the United Nations, Harvard Institute for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to joining Visa, she set up and led the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), H.M. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, where she advocated to make financial services universally available. Amina holds a master’s degree in public policy and international economics from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University.
The VEEI is an independent, non-partisan center of excellence for research and public-private dialogue on payments policy, established by Visa.
The VEEI’s overarching mission is to promote public policies that empower citizens, small businesses, and economies. It develops new research and insights that inform long term policy within the global payments ecosystem. Visa established the VEEI as the next step in its ongoing work to remove barriers to economic empowerment and to create more inclusive, equitable economic opportunities for everyone, everywhere.
The VEEI provides a platform for stakeholders across the world to work together collectively to solve problems, share data and increase economic empowerment, trade and global connectivity. The VEEI is committed to promoting policies that help to close gender, global development, ethnicity, inclusion, as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) finance gaps around the world—enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive.
The VEEI focuses on three strategic pillars to further its mission:
The VEEI is an independent, non-partisan think tank established by Visa. The VEEI’s Executive Director is Dr. Barbara Kotschwar, who leads the Institute’s research and policy initiatives. Also an adjunct Georgetown University professor and former specialist at the World Bank, Dr. Kotschwar oversees a dedicated team of VEEI Fellows who are subject matter experts in global payments, central banking, development finance, international trade, cybersecurity, and other key issues.
The Fellows are subject matter experts in global payments, central banking, development finance, international trade, cybersecurity, and other key issues.
The Fellows are subject matter experts in global payments, central banking, development finance, international trade, cybersecurity, and other key issues.
The Fellows will have access to Visa’s vast information resources and technology capabilities to analyze problems and develop policy recommendations that bring real solutions to communities around the world. They will also draw on Visa’s wide network of partner think tanks and other thought leaders to exchange ideas, co-sponsor events, share insights and potentially co-author papers.
Bill Sheedy, senior advisor to Visa CEO Al Kelly, is the Chair of the VEEI.
As a platform for global leaders to solve problems, share data and increase economic empowerment, the VEEI convenes policymakers from international organizations and agencies, key regulators, central banks and other standard-setting bodies, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral financial consortiums to address global issues affecting digital equity and inclusion, trade and commerce.
The VEEI is uniquely positioned to lead conversations between the public and private sectors given Visa’s commitment to solving long-term policy challenges and its global network and expertise across payments technologies. These conversations and partnerships provide actionable solutions for improving and enhancing communities, opportunities and money movement.
The VEEI does not provide grants or funding to other organizations, but instead focuses on producing ground-breaking research and serves as a platform for global leaders to help increase economic empowerment, trade and global connectivity.
As part of its research efforts and as appropriate, the VEEI will partner with think tanks, non-governmental organizations, and other groups that are advancing economic empowerment, but these organizations do not receive financial support from the VEEI.
