Fintech: Financial Inclusion or Exclusion?

IMF Working Papers, May 6, 2022

Source details

Examines the role of Fintech in financial inclusion using Global Findex data and emerging fintech indicators.
Two-stage empirical investigation:
- First stage: correlation analysis comparing Fintech with digital financial inclusion and traditional measures of financial inclusion.
- Second stage: analysis of factors correlated with the Fletcher School’s three digital divide – gender divide, class (rich-poor) divide and rural divide.

Fintech has a higher positive correlation with digital financial inclusion than traditional measures of financial inclusion.
Greater use of fintech is significantly associated with a narrowing of:
- the class (rich-poor) divide, and
- the rural divide.
No significant impact of fintech use on the gender divide was found.
Conclusion: Fintech alone may not be sufficient to close the gender gap in access to financial services.

Fintech development should be complemented with targeted policy initiatives aimed at:
- addressing the gender gap directly, and
- changing attitudes and social norms across demographics.

Subject: Digital financial services, Financial inclusion, Financial markets, Fintech, Gender, Gender inequality, Mobile banking, Technology
Keywords (as listed): appendix A. data definition, Asia and Pacific, Caribbean, class divide, Digital financial services, East Asia, Financial Development, Financial Inclusion, Fintech, Fintech development, Fintech proxy, Gender inequality, Global, Inequality, Middle East, Mobile banking, role of Fintech, Southeast Asia