Financial inclusion doesn’t start with a bank account; it starts with people being able to get online, trust what they’re using, and move earnings in local currency without gatekeepers. This session brings three complementary lenses to a funder-focused conversation: (1) open source tech and shared infrastructure that reduce lock-in and keep costs low for NGOs; (2) public interest engineering and science funding approaches that prioritize interoperability, security, and long-term maintenance; and (3) the workplace/payments junction, where payroll and platform payouts meet financial tools and where data practices can either widen or close doors to inclusion. We’ll discuss the digital equity training that is needed to lower well-founded fears around financial tools, emerging data standards, and the shift toward smaller and faster payouts (including remittances and mutual aid, but also the gig-economification of more industries). The aim for this panel is to present a balanced, plain-language exploration of potential portfolio choices for the next 12 months: what funders should co-finance, what to stop duplicating, and how to track progress without perverse incentives.