Experts Advocate For Expanding Financial Inclusion To Include Education, Healthcare

Efforts of the international community to increase financial inclusion have seen remarkable progress in recent years. The number of people worldwide having an bank account grew by 700 million between 2011 and 2014. Furthermore, 62 per cent of the world’s adult population has a bank account, up from 51 per cent in 2011, according to the United Nations. At 3rd edition BW Businessworld Festival Of Fintech, experts discuss how can companies make financial services more inclusive and easier that can serve the unserved people as well.  

To Nishant Kumar, Financial Inclusion Lab Lead (MSC Consultant), MSC, the important factor in making financial services is the relationship between underserved segments and how they trust the financial products at an individual level and wholesome level.  

While Thirunavukkarasu R (Thiru R), COO, Kinara Capital, believes, “To make sure financial inclusion as a company, connect with the ground realities, proper utilisation of the technology, process automation in a faster way and decision-making are important factors that should be in focus.”  

Nayan Ambali, SVP- Business Development, M2P Fintech, defines financial inclusion as a fundamental right. He said, “It should make possible access to education, access to healthcare and other basic necessities.” 

On the other side Radhika Binani, CPO, Paisabazaar.com, describes financial services as access to affordable products in an appropriate manner. She said, “In the discussion of financial services, creating credit awareness, digitisation of the process and cocreating products for the customers are primarily important.”   

Shashank Sharma, Director, Scoreme Solutions, highlights the incorporation of AI and Data in financial services, he explained, “Data and AI have a lot of potentials to make your work easier and faster. Al can help you in analyzing the data of huge financial transactions on a day-to-day basis and the algorithm can keep refining them. It can help you in understanding and serving the ground needs which will serve the most to the unserved people.

In India, the exponential growth in the number of bank account holders is significant. However, it is important to acknowledge that to fully benefit from government or corporate schemes, having a bank account is essential. Therefore, it becomes crucial for individuals, companies and the government to recognise the importance of keeping up with changing needs and requirements. All the stakeholders need to actively participate and work together to ensure financial inclusion for the entire population of the country. This awareness is vital as it emphasises the potential marginalisation one may face without aligning with these evolving circumstances.