Advancing Inclusive Financial System in the Next Decade

Financial inclusion has been recognised as an important tool to promote sustainable economic growth and development. All over the globe, initiatives have been undertaken to ensure widespread financial access and inclusion. In Asian emerging economies, financial inclusion has received greater priority in the development agenda. Various measures and modalities have been developed for advancing higher financial inclusion. New initiatives have been highly benefitted by latest technological development. The task of financial inclusion is indeed challenging. While considerable advancement has been made, there exist several bottlenecks in achieving higher financial inclusion. Experiences of different economies have identified several sources of friction which vary across economies. These frictions have not only restricted the potential benefits from increased financial inclusion but also reduced the viability of initiatives aimed at this direction. In this regard, it is imperative to identify the barriers for financial inclusion and in turn, design and implement appropriate measures. Against the above backdrop, this research has been carried out with the objective of reviewing the financial inclusion initiatives undertaken by the SEACEN economies, examining the current status of financial inclusion in these economies and drawing lessons for fine tuning their respective national financial inclusion agenda. In this regard, the research tries to identify successful measures and advocacies as well as bottlenecks impeding progress in financial inclusion.