New financial technologies - including those underpinning cryptocurrencies - herald broader access to the financial system, quicker and more easily verifiable settlement of transactions and payments, and lower transaction costs. Domestic and cross-border payment systems are on the threshold of...

An all-inclusive financial system is one of the channels through which information and communication technology (ICT) affects economic growth. Digital financial inclusion is an evolving phenomenon that enhances the ease of access to and availability of formal financial services. Further,...

This paper introduces a new index of financial inclusion for 153 advanced, emerging, and developing economies using a comprehensive set of new indicators, grouped into four different dimensions: financial access, usage, financial development, and fintech infrastructure. The fintech...

Financial inclusion plays an important role in giving households greater access to borrowing opportunities, which in turn can be used to improve human capital accumulation, socioeconomic status, and long-run economic development. One way to enhance households' access to and usage of the...

In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of financial inclusion and financial literacy in Georgia based on the latest literature, statistical evidence, and recent surveys. The paper reviews current government policy initiatives and strategy documents aimed at...

This paper discusses recent developments in financial inclusion and financial literacy in Kyrgyz Republic. While financial inclusion is considered one of the key drivers of today's development, it is quite new to Kyrgyz Republic. The first attempts to introduce the notion of financial inclusion...

Financial innovation in the form of new delivery channels, products, and providers has helped push out the frontier of access to finance and thus increase the bankable and banked population. Mobile money and crowdfunding platforms are prime examples for this. The same financial innovation has...

FinTech has been transforming the financial landscape in the People’s Republic of China. Its leading FinTech businesses such as mobile payment services and big data-based online lending are at the frontier of global development. At the same time, it also creates new problems, illustrated by...

This paper discusses the status of financial inclusion, education, and literacy in Azerbaijan as well as measures to foster the development of SMEs, which currently have inadequate access to financial resources. The primary policy challenge faced by the government of Azerbaijan is defining its...

Financial inclusion has significantly advanced in Armenia during the last decade. Rural and urban areas, however, have benefited unevenly. The high cost of providing financial services, the lack of physical infrastructure, higher poverty rates, and the low level of financial literacy are the...