What is Financial Inclusion?

Financial inclusion is the state wherein individuals and businesses have convenient access to and use affordable and suitable financial products and services – payments and transfer, savings, credit, and insurance– that meet their needs, help to improve their lives, and delivered responsibly and sustainably . Being able to access a transactional account is the first step towards broader financial inclusion since the transactional account allows individuals and businesses to store money and send and receive payments.

Financial access facilitates everyday life and helps individuals and companies plan everything from long-term goals to unforeseen contingencies. As account holders, individuals and companies are more likely to use other financial services, like credit and insurance, and have more opportunities to benefit from financial sources, and to start and expand businesses, invest in education or health, manage economic risks and shocks that can improve the overall quality of their lives.