Thankom ARUN and Rajalaxmi KAMATH
Financial exclusion of a large percentage of the working age adult population is a global policy concern. Financial inclusion will enable people have access to financial instruments like savings, remittances and credit. It forces economies to have financial architecture in place as safety nets. Realising this, countries, both developed and the developing, have taken up financial inclusion as a priority. This round table attempts to understand the global picture of financial inclusion and the intricacies of the challenges involved in achieving full financial inclusion. The article by Elisabeth Rhyne uses Global Microscope data to assess the financial inclusion policies in Peru, India, Kenya and China, and highlights the area in which each country excels and lags. The Microscope data used in the paper reveal a strong correlation between the countries that performed well in supporting microfinance and on financial inclusion. The paper by Rao and Anand talks of India, where the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is an example of a state-led initiative towards universal financial inclusion taken up on a mission mode. Here, by asking people to open no-frills bank accounts, this process has become demand-driven. The paper by Jain, Zubenko, and Carotenuto is an inquiry into the policy environment for financial inclusion, and measures adoption and degree of usage of financial products for 30 countries. The study reveals the progression of financial inclusion in the countries, based on usage of payment products. The paper by Kostov, Arun, Annim, and Adjasi discusses the potential lack of demand for financial services, providing a demand perspective into the access to finance debate. The paper by Godinho, Singh, and Russel discusses the case of Indigenous people in Australia who are socio-economically marginalised and financially excluded reminding us that financial exclusion, induced by social, cultural, and geographical exclusion is not a problem of the developing world alone.
