This article examines various conditions for optimality in financial inclusion. The optimal level of financial inclusion is achieved when basic financial services are provided to members of the population at a price that is affordable and that price is also economically sufficient to encourage...

This article presents several theories of financial inclusion. Financial inclusion is the ease of access to, and the availability of, basic financial services to all members of the population. Financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable...

This article critically assess digital finance as a pro-poor intervention in the development finance space. It examines the turn from ‘microfinance for the poor' to ‘digital finance for the poor'. It then considers three key issues and contest the argument that digital finance is pro-poor....

This article presents some criticisms of financial inclusion. It notes that (i) financial inclusion is an invitation to live by finance and leads to the financialisation of poverty; (ii) some of the benefits of financial inclusion disappears after a few years; (iii) financial inclusion ignores...

This paper presents a discussion about financial inclusion washing. It was argued that financial inclusion washing is the deliberate or unintentional use of exaggerated claims or misleading claims to describe an entity’s commitment to increase the level of financial inclusion. The paper showed...

The objective of this article is to define the financial inclusion expectation gap, offer some insight into the nature and the causes of it, and suggest ways to reduce the gap. The discussion in the article provides helpful insights into this problem towards achieving the United Nations...

Financial inclusion involves the provision of basic formal financial services to members of society. Policy efforts and collaboration with the private sector have helped to increase the level of financial inclusion in many countries. Such efforts give rise to net winners and net losers from...

This article advocates a new addition to the theories of financial inclusion which is the institutional theory of financial inclusion. The case for a new theory arises from the role of institutions or non-market structures in influencing the level of financial inclusion. Postulating an...

Financial inclusion has been a global development policy priority over the last two decades. Financial inclusion involves providing access to basic financial services and the use of basic financial services to improve the welfare of individuals, households and businesses. This paper identifies...