Ways to Promote Financial Inclusion

🚀 Boosting Electronic Payment Adoption: Lessons from Tanzania, India, Brazil, and Algeria 🌍 Digital payments are reshaping economies, with emerging markets leading the way. Recent innovations from Tanzania, India, Brazil, and Algeria showcase transformative strategies for accelerating adoption and enhancing financial inclusion. Here’s how these nations are driving change: 🌟 4 Inspiring Strategies 1️⃣ Tanzania – Breaking Barriers with Fee Removal • By eliminating fees on card transactions, Tanzania is paving the way for a cash-lite economy, ensuring digital payments are affordable for consumers and merchants. • Takeaway: Removing financial barriers at the point of use is a simple yet powerful way to encourage adoption. 2️⃣ India – Scaling Through Subsidies • India’s UPI platform, backed by government subsidies, offers zero fees for consumers and most merchants. With over 8 billion transactions monthly, UPI has become a global benchmark for scale and accessibility. • Takeaway: Public investment in digital infrastructure can create a massive, inclusive payment ecosystem. 3️⃣ Brazil – Balancing Low Costs and Sustainability • The PIX system, centralized by Brazil’s Central Bank, provides free transactions for individuals and minimal fees (0.5%-1%) for merchants. This model ensures both affordability and system sustainability. • Takeaway: A modest fee for merchants can sustain growth while driving widespread adoption. 4️⃣ Algeria – Incentivizing Inclusion with Tax Relief • Launching DZ MOB PAY in 2025, Algeria plans to offer free payments for users and merchants. Banks will cover costs through tax offsets, aligning with the nation’s goals for modernization and financial inclusion. • Takeaway: Tax incentives can motivate private-sector participation and foster a modern, inclusive payment ecosystem. 🌍 What Emerging Economies Can Learn To build a thriving digital payment ecosystem, nations can: 1. Eliminate Cost Barriers: Ensure low or nonexistent fees for consumers and merchants. 2. Leverage Public-Private Partnerships: Share costs through subsidies or tax incentives. 3. Prioritize Infrastructure: Develop secure, interoperable systems that scale effectively while earning user trust. 4. Promote Awareness: Educate citizens, especially in underserved areas, to build trust and adoption. 🌟 The Vision for a Cash-Lite Future Affordable, inclusive, and innovative payment systems are the cornerstone of a cash-lite economy. Emerging markets can draw inspiration from Tanzania, India, Brazil, and Algeria to empower citizens, modernize financial systems, and unlock economic potential. 💡 What do you think? Could these strategies work in your country? Let’s exchange ideas and shape the future of payments together! #DigitalPayments #FinancialInclusion #EmergingMarkets #Tanzania #India #Brazil #Algeria #Innovation #CashLiteEconomy

The U.S. Treasury recently unveiled its National Strategy for Financial Inclusion. It’s packed with practical ideas to remove barriers to financial health and wealth-building. Here’s a snapshot of the key strategies Treasury proposes to improve financial inclusion: 1️⃣ Better Transaction Accounts and Payments: ▶️ Lower fees and reduced minimum balance requirements for checking and savings accounts. ▶️ Faster access to funds (real-time settlement and payments to avoid penalties and late fees). ▶️ Language accessibility for non-English speakers. ▶️ Read-only account access for those needing financial assistance. ▶️ Mobile banking branches for activities requiring in-person access (e.g., cash deposits). 2️⃣ Smarter Credit Underwriting: ▶️ Incorporating cash flow data, rental history, and utility/telecom payments to improve credit assessments. ▶️ Open banking rules to make switching banks easier and spur innovation in financial products. 3️⃣ Improved Restructuring and Forbearance Options: ▶️ Enhanced loan restructuring options to adjust payment terms, reduce interest rates, or extend repayment periods during financial hardships. ▶️ Short-term pauses on adverse credit reporting to credit bureaus during declared emergencies, such as natural disasters and pandemics. 4️⃣ Stronger Incentives for Savings: ▶️ Retirement accounts with features like automatic enrollment and limited penalty-free withdrawals for emergencies. ▶️ Rainy day funds designed to help individuals save specifically for emergencies, often linked to payroll deductions or account nudges to make saving easy and consistent. ▶️ Child savings accounts to build wealth from a young age. 5️⃣ Reduced Government Friction: ▶️ Simplified identity verification using municipal IDs, student IDs, and attestation letters to increase accessibility. ▶️ Streamlined processes for accessing tax credits and subsidies, like childcare and home energy assistance, by cutting red tape and reducing the burden of forms and documentation. ▶️ Free or low-cost tax filing options to make navigating tax season more affordable and straightforward. These are common-sense strategies to remove barriers that keep millions of Americans from building wealth and achieving financial security. https://lnkd.in/gRcqzJtV

Today at the Toronto Centre, we discussed how regulators can promote women financial inclusion by leveraging the benefits of financial innovation while addressing potential risks related to access, affordability, and fairness. Regulators play a key role in ensuring positive outcomes for women through several key strategies: 1. Set Vision and Targets: Develop National Financial Inclusion Strategies with clear goals for women's financial inclusion. 2. Promote Gender-Disaggregated Data (GDD): i) Collect and utilize GDD to establish strategies with clear targets and monitor progress; ii) Help financial institutions see the business case for serving women and tailor products to their needs. 3. Support Data-Powered Innovation: i) Encourage the development of inclusive digital public infrastructure, incl. interoperable payment systems and open finance, and ensure connectivity is equitable; ii) Promote digital delivery channels and use of agents to reach women. 4. Address Implicit Biases in Regulation: i) Ensure KYC processes are proportional and simplified where possible; ii) Review credit regulations to accommodate diverse signing authorities, loan types, and creditworthiness assessments; iii) Foster innovation through licensing regulations that support diverse providers and digital business models; iv) Enhance consumer protection to promote financial literacy, fair disclosure, protection against frauds and data risks, and customer redress mechanisms; v) Promote the role of women in the governance of financial institutions. 5. Encourage AI: Develop frameworks for the responsible and fair use of AI in financial services, emphasizing transparency, explainability, and accountability. By implementing these strategies, regulators can create a more inclusive financial system that addresses the unique needs of women and promotes their financial empowerment. Thank you May Abulnaga from the Central Bank of Egypt, Claudine Mensah Awute, PhD, from CARE, and Babak Abbaszadeh and Demet CANAKCI, M.A. Economics, from Toronto Centre.

India just did something that should have taken 47 years in 9 years. 561.6 million people gained bank accounts through Jan Dhan Yojana since 2014. That’s nearly 1.5 times the entire US population brought into the financial mainstream. Most countries take half a century to do this. Anil Padmanabhan something that stopped me cold. Here’s what makes this unprecedented: ↳ Stats that demand attention: • Gender gap in account ownership: 17% → 6% in just 6 years • Education divide collapsed from 29% → 10%• Rich-poor banking gap narrowed from 14% → 5% • ₹38.49 trillion transferred directly to citizens via JAM trinity • 116 million retail investors on NSE, 72% from tier-II/III towns ↳ Three insights reshaping financial inclusion: 1/ From access to empowerment The real challenge isn’t opening accounts—it’s transforming savers into investors. 561 million people now have economic identity, but only 4.2% are truly financially literate. Infrastructure creates leapfrogging 2/ JAM trinity (Jan Dhan + Aadhaar + Mobile) became economic GPS. It saved ₹3 trillion by eliminating middlemen while restoring trust in government welfare. 3/ Inclusion without literacy creates vulnerability India’s retail investing boom is exciting but dangerous. Millions entering markets without capacity to navigate volatility. Financial inclusion 2.0 must prioritize education. ↳ my take after 20 years in this industry What India achieved defies every textbook on financial inclusion. As Anil notes, countries typically need per capita income to rise from $5,000 to $20,000 over 47 years to reach this scale. India did it with incomes rising only from $1,500 to $2,700. The secret wasn’t just tech—it was reimagining the social contract. JAM how 500+ million people relate to the formal economy. But here’s the catch: access without financial literacy is like giving someone car keys without driving lessons. But the story everyone’s celebrating has a massive blind spot. That’s why my co-authors Ayush Tripathi and Soham Jagtap and I wrote “Ushering into the New Era of Financial Inclusion: Enabling Women and Women-Led Organisations.” last year ↳ What our research revealed: • Women make up only 32.8% of India’s workforce vs 47% globally • Despite being nearly half the population, women contribute just 17% to GDP compared to 37% worldwide •Women receive credit equal to just 27% of their deposits, while men get 52% • Only 10% of women are borrowers compared to 15% of men The infrastructure is built. Now comes the harder part—ensuring these accounts become instruments of wealth creation, not just welfare delivery; the women become employment drivers and borrowers not just subsidy recipients. Which other emerging markets do you see balancing rapid financial inclusion with financial literacy? What lessons can others learn from India? (link to the articles in the comments)

FATF 2025 Guidance: Financial Inclusion and AML/CFT – A Balanced Approach The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published its revised Guidance on Financial Inclusion and AML/CFT Measures (June 2025). The document provides practical direction for jurisdictions and financial institutions on how to design AML/CFT controls that facilitate, rather than hinder, financial inclusion. Key clarifications include: 🔹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗠𝗟/𝗖𝗙𝗧 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 The FATF introduces the term “proportionate” in place of “commensurate” to ensure better alignment with practical implementation of the risk-based approach (RBA). Measures should be adjusted according to the level and nature of risk, not applied uniformly. 🔹 𝗡𝗼 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 The Guidance explicitly states that unserved or underserved persons in both developing and developed countries should not be automatically classified as low ML/TF risk. Likewise, they should not be automatically classified as high risk. Risk must be assessed using relevant, risk-based criteria. 🔹 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝘂𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 (𝗦𝗗𝗗) FATF supports the use of SDD in cases of proven low ML/TF risk. Examples include basic accounts or low-value services where risk has been clearly assessed as low. 🔹 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀 The Guidance recognises that digital and non-face-to-face methods are legitimate and effective for onboarding, provided that adequate safeguards are in place and risks are properly managed. 🔹 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲-𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 FATF continues to warn against “de-risking” entire sectors or population groups. Such blanket measures are inconsistent with the risk-based approach and can lead to increased use of informal, unregulated channels. 🔹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 Jurisdictions are encouraged to incorporate financial inclusion goals into National Risk Assessments and AML/CFT strategies, ensuring consistency across regulatory objectives. The responsibility now lies with regulators and institutions to translate this guidance into measurable, inclusive outcomes.

It’s Time to Define What’s Been Driving India’s Financial Inclusion All Along For over a decade, #BusinessCorrespondents (BCs) have been the frontline of India’s #FinancialInclusion movement—bridging the gap between banks and #Bharat. Chosen from within their own communities, BCs are familiar, trusted figures: the local shopkeeper, the teacher, the postmaster. In places where formal banking channels once felt distant, BCs brought services closer to home—offering not just access, but #familiarity, #comfort, and #confidence. In many parts of the country, they have even outpaced traditional bank branches in mobilising deposits, reflecting their deep local connect. Despite their growing role, BCs are yet to be formally recognised as a distinct segment within the broader financial services ecosystem. As their responsibilities expand and digital inclusion efforts accelerate, there is a strong case for creating a more defined framework that supports their continued growth and sustainability. Recently, BCs have called for a review of their longstanding remuneration structure—a reminder that the model must evolve in step with expectations. This is not just a discussion about compensation—it’s an opportunity to enable greater clarity, consistency, and confidence in a model that is already delivering results on the ground. Recognising non-banking correspondents as a specialised sub-sector could help unlock new innovations in service delivery, enhance training and compliance frameworks, and strengthen the viability of this vital last-mile network. As India continues to advance its digital and financial inclusion goals, it is essential to ensure that the people and platforms enabling access at scale are supported with the right structure and policies. BCs are not just delivery agents—they are enablers of trust and inclusion. Recognising their role will be key to building a future-ready financial ecosystem that truly leaves no one behind.   #FinancialInclusion #LastMileBanking #DigitalBharat #FintechForGood #PolicyForInclusion Ramesh Venkataraman | Rashmi Aggarwal | Ram Rastogi 🇮🇳 | Harsh Mittal | Usha Murali | Kuldeep Pawar | Venkatramu J | CA. SUNIL KUMAR KAPOOR | sameer nagpal | Rohit Ahuja | Pankaj Vaish | Dr. Binu Varghese | Rohit Sood| Srikrishna Narasimhan | Pankaj Vaish | veena mankar I Subramanian Murali | Mayank Jain

Half the world's population faces invisible walls to access financial services. Why do 1.7 billion women remain financially excluded, and what's actually working to tear these barriers down? This paper goes beyond the usual talk of “access.” It unpacks the real constraints: discriminatory laws, lack of digital ID, algorithmic bias, and social norms that penalize women for being financially independent. It also highlights what’s working: → Governments digitizing social transfers into women’s accounts → Financial products designed with women’s lived realities in mind (not just repackaged for pink logos) → Bundling credit with childcare, insurance, or training → Collecting sex-disaggregated data to design smarter policies If you're in development, policy, fintech, or gender advocacy, this is your signal to move beyond micro-loans and think systems change. Because access isn’t empowerment if the system itself keeps women out. 💾 Save this post 🔔 Follow me for similar content #Gender #FinancialInclusion

🤔 What if we stopped treating inclusive insurance as a sequential add-on and started seeing it as the cornerstone of financial resilience it truly is? That’s the shift I’m calling for in the Geneva Association’s latest report. In its new report, "Insurance as a Core Element of Financial Inclusion in Emerging Economies", the message is clear: despite huge progress in digital payments, savings and credit, millions of households across emerging markets remain dangerously exposed to financial shocks. 🔺Across Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa and Türkiye, the report finds that while most people recognise the value of insurance, major protection gaps persist, especially in property, disability, and savings-type life coverage. Not because people can’t access insurance, but because products are often too expensive, too complex or simply not designed for real life. This is exactly why AXA EssentiALL exists and what we work on every day across 21 markets – in both the emerging and Europe where there is a growing need for more adapted inclusive insurance. The latter must be understood as a foundational pillar of financial health: it strengthens the value created by credit, savings and payments by being a safety net; it protects against shocks that typically send the more modest into poverty; it acts as an accelerator for aspirations by sharing risks. I was honoured to bring this perspective to the report emphasising the need for: ✅ Stronger narratives that position inclusive insurance as essential ✅ Deeper integration into health, agriculture, digital and social protection policy agendas ✅ Transformative models such as composite licensing, bundled solutions, behaviour-based mechanisms and omnichannel distribution ✅ And above all, rigorous field insight to design Accessible, Attractive and Affordable products. 🙏 Thanks to the Geneva Association, Kai-Uwe Schanz, Dr. oec. HSG and to all contributors for elevating inclusive insurance to where it belongs: at the ❤️ of the financial inclusion agenda. If we want a world that is more resilient, more equitable and more cohesive, we need protection that works for everyone. 🔗 Read the full report 👉https://lnkd.in/eTy_MeAr #AXAEssentiALL #FinancialInclusion #InclusiveInsurance #AXA4Impact #FinancialHealth #GenevaAssociation

Financial Inclusion Without Financial Fragility We often celebrate financial inclusion with one metric: more people borrowing. But the evidence tells a more nuanced story. IMF and World Bank research shows that inclusion supports growth and resilience when it expands access to basic services—payments, savings, and risk-sharing. Risks rise when inclusion is reduced to rapid household credit expansion, especially where supervision is weak. In other words: inclusion is good. Credit booms are not. The combination of fast credit growth and weak guardrails is what tends to precede rising defaults and financial stress. So the policy lesson is simple: Inclusion works when it is sequenced. 1️⃣ Start with payments and safe savings 2️⃣ Build strong consumer protection and fair conduct rules 3️⃣ Strengthen credit reporting and supervision 4️⃣ Invest seriously in financial literacy 5️⃣ Then expand credit—gradually, transparently, and responsibly Consumer protection is not a side issue. Transparent pricing, fair collections, and effective complaints systems are part of financial stability. Financial literacy matters: informed users borrow better, save more, and plan for shocks. But literacy works best when products are simple, transparent, and fairly priced. Financial inclusion is not about speed. It’s about sustainability. https://lnkd.in/d-vzqRSg #FinancialInclusion #FinancialStability #ConsumerProtection #FinancialLiteracy #CentralBanking #Regulation #Policy

"Most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are implementing #fast_payment_systems (FPS), often with the goal of enhancing access to and use of affordable #financial_services. FPS offer immediate transfer of funds on a 24x7 basis between end users. This paper assesses how FPS can promote #financial_inclusion.   We find that FPS go hand-in-hand with greater access to loans and savings in the financial system. The paper also discusses the current experience of countries across the region in FPS and related payment innovations, including central bank digital currencies (#CBDCs). Finally, we discuss the key challenges in practice associated to cybersecurity #risks and fraud, interoperability, end user and participant fees and universal access."   — From: José Aurazo, Cecilia Franco, Jon Frost and Jamere McIntosh, Fast payments and financial inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean, BIS Papers No. 153, Bank for International Settlements, March 7, 2025    The full paper is available here: https://lnkd.in/esVT25HT