Financial Inclusion Principles 101
Financial inclusion primarily intends to improve the availability, quality and range of financial products and services to people who are financially excluded, underserved and unserved. It needs to embrace principles that the banking sector regards as important before offering a wide variety of superior financial products and services to these populations. The main underlying principles that should guide financial inclusion in the banking industry include:
Access
This involves offering cost-effective financial delivery channels, financial services and financial products to the target audience, thus facilitating global access. The accessibility should also be supported by making the clients financially educated.
Suitability
The financial products need to take care of the requirements of clients, taking into consideration language and regulatory barriers.
Affordability
Services and products have to be offered at a competitive cost. Every financial institution in the network has to aim to reduce cost-to-serve and cost-to-client, to make sure that the cost of services and products are in accordance with the financial ability of the targeted population.
Use
It is the act of using or employing a financial product or service. The access is not useful if the targeted individuals are not using the service or product, thus inclusion and accessibility need to be followed by usage.
Quality
This means how financial services are offered to the targeted market. Financial inclusion should incorporate characteristics such as client protection, the dignity of treatment, safety, product-fit, convenience, simplicity and affordability. Quality also means traits of product design and delivery that improve service value for clients.
Financial Education of Consumers
It is important to educate consumers about how financial services can be used. This will ensure that the services are used in a productive and responsible way.
Diversification & Innovation
This includes incorporating the latest technologies, delivery channels and product designs in the financial inclusion process, leading to a higher quality of services provided. This is precisely why CrowdForce studied emerging markets and created a platform driven by mobile technology and a large network of agents. We are also currently working to integrate blockchain into our platform to enhance security and eliminate third parties and their associated costs.
Simplicity
It involves making services and products easy to understand and use while using simple channels and convenient languages to deliver these services.
