Featuring insights from Mallory Boulter, Vice President of Global Impact, Remitly

Across many contexts, digital financial services hold significant promise for strengthening economic mobility, household security, and resilience. Yet the gap between potential and lived experience remains wide. The Remitly Foundation fund was created to help close that gap by investing in the long-term financial health of communities that reflect Remitly’s vision and values. Built through a Pledge 1 percent equity commitment of 1.8 million shares, the Foundation represents a belief that philanthropy should be grounded in what is durable: organizational values, proximity to the communities served, and a clear understanding of the systems in which those communities live and work. A Pledge 1 percent equity commitment means that Remitly set aside one percent of its total company shares at the time of its IPO, creating a philanthropic endowment for long-term community investment.

When the Foundation launched, Remitly sought support from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors not to craft a traditional strategy but to learn. The initial goal was to learn from community-informed insights, alongside identifying potential metrics and partners. Yet early in the process, it became clear that a deeper, more fundamental question was emerging: What does it actually take for digital financial tools to improve people’s lives? As Boulter reflected, “early in the project I realized what I really needed was deep thought partnership, because it was important to hear from others in the field and avoid becoming ‘an echo chamber.”

What unfolded was a collaborative learning journey that reshaped how the Foundation defines impact, how it listens to community expertise, and how it designs philanthropy in ways that are aligned with Remitly’s values of customer centricity, action, and ownership. The work centered on lived experience, conversations with practitioners, and an open stance toward what the Foundation did not yet know. Boulter spoke with more than twenty leaders, partners, peers, and community members to test early assumptions, ask what she might be missing, and understand the dynamics shaping digital financial behavior in different contexts. These conversations, combined with RPA’s interviews and case studies, created an environment where insights could emerge with clarity and purpose.

One of the clearest insights was the distinction between access and adoption. Expanding access to digital financial accounts is an important achievement, but access alone does not lead to better outcomes. Boulter recalled how RPA Senior Advisor Colleen Muse framed it, noting that “innovation is anything we’re doing to improve people’s lives,” a reminder that metrics like scale are only meaningful when paired with purpose and quality. She put it simply: “Access is the first step, but adoption is what drives meaningful change. Someone can have an account, but if they are not actively engaging with and using digital financial services, it is unlikely to advance financial health.” Many factors influence whether people use digital tools, including gender dynamics, household decision-making, and trust. In some communities, for example, women may gain access to digital accounts but face constraints that prevent them from using them freely. Understanding these realities required going beyond metrics to the social conditions that shape behavior.

Listening closely to community partners revealed that adoption depends on relevance, safety, and whether tools reflect real constraints and aspirations. Because digital tools carry both real benefits and real risks, the ability to use them safely and confidently becomes essential for genuine adoption. Human-centered approaches became central to the Foundation’s thinking, and as Boulter noted, the partnership with RPA “really gave velocity to the areas we are focused on because that partnership and that dialogue is what brought it to life.” That velocity was not about speed, but about moving with clarity and intention, grounded in what communities identified as the barriers and opportunities that matter most.

Boulter connected this directly to scam awareness and digital safety, noting that understanding “the connection between consumer protection, scam awareness, and what that means for trust” is essential to financial inclusion. Digital tools only support financial health when individuals feel confident using them safely and securely. If people do not know or trust the environment, or worry about losing money, they may not adopt digital services, no matter how accessible the tools may be. This recognition broadened the Foundation’s approach by showing that elements like education and trustworthy, relevant design are not peripheral to financial inclusion; they are foundational to it. The learning journey also shifted the Foundation’s understanding of partnership. Rather than building new programs from the ground up, Remitly Foundation has chosen to collaborate with organizations already trusted by the communities they aim to serve. Several of the Foundation’s current partners came directly from RPA’s recommendations, as well as the conversations Boulter initiated across the field, including leaders who pointed her toward organizations better suited for specific aspects of the work. As she shared, the goal is not to replicate existing efforts, but to “partner with and alongside the community leaders already doing this important work” to deepen impact.

These insights shaped the Foundation’s new U.S. innovation portfolio focused on cash-to-digital adoption and digital financial literacy. Instead of moving immediately into programmatic funding, Remitly began with community-led research. Three organizations are now conducting field-building work that includes surveys, focus groups, and human-centered design approaches. This thread connected directly to a framing offered during the collaboration by RPA Senior Advisor Colleen, who emphasized that “innovation is anything we’re doing to improve people’s lives.” Boulter returned to this idea because it shifted focus toward usefulness, dignity, and meaningful impact. This listening-first model reflects a broader evolution in the Foundation’s philanthropy. Strategy is no longer defined by predetermined categories of grants, but by relationships, relevance, and community wisdom.

Boulter captured the essence of this evolution in her closing reflection: “The biggest takeaway is that innovation doesn’t always mean new; sometimes it means doing the right things, better, in trusted partnerships with existing organizations and leaders who deeply understand the communities they are serving.”