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To help inform the debate over whether socio-demographic characteristics are related to the use of digital technologies, the authors investigated the effects of age, gender, education, income and being in the workforce on changes in using financial digital services using panel data collected in the MENA countries during 2017.

This study aims to identify the impact of government policy on the determinants of financial inclusion and digital payment services in the MENA region. The authors use microdata from the 2017 Global Findex database on MENA countries to perform probit estimations. The paper focuses on the role of technology adoption by government authorities in extending financial inclusion and digital payment around different people.

The authors find that poorer people (and, by association, less educated people) and the young (but less so the elderly) are disproportionately excluded from the financial system. Results confirm that better collaboration between the government and the financial sector can help to develop digital financial inclusion through the technology adoption channels. The study confirms the significant impact of the government cashless policy in advancing financial inclusion in the MENA countries, with potentially wider applicability to other developed economies.

Policies to advance mobile money innovations could stimulate financial inclusion by promoting digital transaction services. The role of government authorities is imperative to harness the beneficial and sustainable gains from digitizing remittances and transfers to promote a cashless economy.

Financial inclusion promotes equality through a broadening of the system and government cashless policy can be a major catalyst for greater financial inclusion. It helps in the overall economic development of the underprivileged population and contributes to poverty reduction.

This study aims to empirically analyze the factors influencing digital financial inclusion in China.

Using panel data from 31 provinces in China for the years 2011-2018, the study constructed spatial econometric models for regression analysis at the national and regional levels.

Economic development, government intervention, internet penetration and the development of the credit level significantly affected the development of digital financial inclusion in China. However, the specific influence of the various factors varied by province. Provinces with less-developed economies generally had weaker economic foundations and underdeveloped digital financial services, making it more difficult to fully achieve digital financial inclusion.

Relevant government policies should strengthen digital infrastructure and improve the organizational systems and services of digital finance to support the balanced development of digital financial services in China.

China’s e-commerce development has been at the global forefront for decades, which suggests digital financial inclusion is also well-placed for strong development in China. However, quantitative research on the digital financial inclusion index has remained insufficient in China and worldwide, with most research ignoring the status of different development levels in a different region. To address this gap in the literature, this study empirically researched the status, regional differences and causes associated with these differences that impact digital financial inclusion in China.

Drawing from the argument that mobile money services have a significant potential to provide a wide range of affordable, convenient and secure financial services, there have been rampant frauds on consumers of financial products over the digital financial platform. Thus, this study aims to establish the mediating effect of digital consumer protection in the relationship between mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion with data collected from micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in northern Uganda.

To achieve the main objective of this study, a research model was developed to test for the mediating effect of digital consumer protection in the relationship between mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion. The data were collected from MSMEs and structural equation modelling in partial least square (PLS) combined with bootstrap was applied to analyze and test the hypotheses of this study. The direct and indirect effect of mobile money adoption and usage on financial inclusion was tested through digital consumer protection as a mediator variable.

The findings from the PLS-structural equation modelling (SEM) showed that mobile money adoption and usage has both direct and indirect effect on financial inclusion. Moreover, financial inclusion is influenced by both mobile money adoption and usage and digital consumer protection.

The study used partial least square (PLS-SEM) combined with bootstrap confidence intervals through a formative approach to establish the mediating effect of the mediator variable. Hence, it ignored the use of covariance-based SEM and the MedGraph programme. Furthermore, data were collected from samples located in Gulu district, northern Uganda and specifically from MSMEs. This limits generalization of the study findings to other population who also use mobile money services.

Promoters of digital financial services, managers of telecommunication companies, and financial inclusion advocates should consider strengthening the existing digital consumer protection laws on the mobile money platform. A collaborative approach between the mobile network operators, financial institutions and regulators should tighten the existing laws against mobile money fraudsters and an efficient mechanism for recourse, compensation and remedy should be set up to benefit the victims of frauds and cybercrime on the Fintech ecosystem.

The current study gives a useful insight into the critical mediating role of digital consumer protection as a cushion for promoting financial inclusion through mobile phones over the Fintech that face great threat and risk from cyber insecurity.

Purpose: This chapter presents criticisms of financial inclusion.

Methodology: This chapter uses critical discourse analysis to critique the modern financial inclusion agenda.

Findings: The findings reveal that (i) financial inclusion is an invitation to live by finance and leads to the financialization of poverty; (ii) some of the benefits of financial inclusion disappear after a few years; (iii) financial inclusion ignores how poverty affects financial decision-making; (iv) it promotes digital money which is difficult to understand; (v) financial inclusion promotes the use of transaction accounts; (vi) digital money is difficult to understand; and that (vii) some financial inclusion efforts bear a resemblance to a campaign against having cash-in-hand.

Implication: This study will help policymakers in their assessment of the economic, social, political, and cultural factors that hinder financial inclusion as well as the consequence of financial inclusion for society. For academics, this study will provide a critical perspective to on-going financial inclusion debates in the large positivist literature on financial inclusion.

Originality: Currently, there are no studies that use critical discourse analysis to analyze the broader concept of financial inclusion. This chapter is the first study that uses critical discourse analysis to critique some aspects of the modern financial inclusion agenda.

Premised on the assertion that financial digitalization is currently the panacea and game changer in delivering progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs) through universal financial inclusion, especially in developing countries, the purpose of this paper is to establish the moderating effect of transaction tax exemptions in the relationship between mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion.

A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 379 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which use mobile money services drawn from the Northern District of Gulu in Uganda to provide responses for this study. The predictive relevancy and the effect size of the model were determined by running partial least square algorithm through structural equation model (SEM) with 5,000 bootstrap samples in SmartPLS-SEM 3.0.

The findings indicated that all the latent variables of transaction tax exemptions showed significant and positive impact on mobile money adoption and usage to advance financial inclusion in developing countries. Moreover, when combined together, the overall SEM predictive model revealed a significant moderating effect of transaction tax exemptions in the relationship between mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion. This implies that transaction tax exemptions on digital financial innovations such as the mobile money services can stimulate economic growth through increased level of financial inclusion labeled as the main enabler in achieving the SDGs by the year 2030.

Whereas data were collected from users of mobile money services, the samples were drawn specifically from MSMEs’ owners located in the Northern District of Gulu in Uganda. Thus, users located in other districts were not included in the sample for this study. Similarly, this study limited itself to only financial services offered through the mobile money platform. It ignored other digital financial channels such as the internet and electronic banking.

Going forward, in order to improve the economic well-being of households at the “bottom of the pyramid,” governments in developing countries should embrace the significant role of transaction tax exemptions in promoting digital financial innovations such as the mobile money services for increased level of financial inclusion. The governments in developing countries where mobile money has greatly spurred financial inclusion should not only reduce the existing transaction taxes on mobile money services but scrap it off in order to champion progressive increase in the level of universal financial inclusion prescribed as a key enabler in eliminating global poverty, especially in developing countries.

This study hints on the moderating effect of transaction tax exemptions in the relationship between mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion. The paradox in the current trends on transaction taxes on mobile money services, especially in developing countries remain a dearth in the nascent global FINTECH ecosystem.

The study aims to explore the role of digital economy and technology adoption for financial inclusion in the Indian context.

A conceptual framework was developed and hypotheses were tested through a survey conducted on 433 educated adults (males and females) residing in different districts of Rajasthan (India). Data was collected through a structured questionnaire and was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling (second-order) was used to validate the measurement model and to test the mediating effect.

The measurement model is a confirmatory factor analysis and measures the reliability of the observed variables in relation to the latent constructs and indices shows the overall model fit. Structural model results indicate a complete mediation and a reflective impact (R² = 0.28) of the extended technology acceptance model on digital economy and financial inclusion relationship.

The study has taken into account only the perception of educated adults residing more specifically in one geographical area of a country. Thus, it limits the generalization of results in terms of implications to other regions and countries.

The proposed framework and implications are quite significant for policymakers and service providers to understand the nexus and strategic choices involved in this area. Moreover, understanding of user’s frame dependence would help in the development of digital assistive models that would perhaps mitigate the gap from participation (digital economy) to acceptance (financial inclusion).

Present study proposed a three-dimensional hypothetical model and conceptualized the digital economy (independent variable) as participation, behavioral intentions measured through the extended technology acceptance model (mediating variable) as adoption and financial inclusion (dependent variable) as acceptance to better understand the nexus. It represents the foremost step and a unique effort in this area. Moreover, the study was empirical and has wider applications both from the perspectives of end-users and service providers.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the dilemma of digital banking and the financial inclusion agenda of countries with the level of strength of the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

This study develops an AML/CFT compliance index using the assessment data of FATF to measure the level compliance strength of countries to measure the impact of the strength of the AML/CFT regime on the financial inclusion. Financial literacy, literacy, number of bank branches and income level of countries are used as other control variables in regression analysis, which is used to test the developed model.

The results suggest that the AML/CFT compliance level of a country is a significant factor in determining the level of financial inclusion. Besides, the number of bank branches for 100,000 people, literacy and financial literacy are significant factors in financial inclusion. However, the results reveal that financial literacy is significant over literacy in determining financial inclusion. Therefore, having considered the importance of the AML/CFT regime for financial inclusion, regulators are required to strengthen the AML/CFT regime and make clarity on the AML/CFT regulations. This clarity will promote the digitalization and financial inclusion over time.

Most of the studies related to financial inclusion and AML/CFT aspects are qualitative. Therefore, this is only the start of measuring the strength of an AML/CFT regime. More appropriate measures will be developed in the future based on this foundation.

This paper is an original work done by the author, which discusses the issues of digital banking and financial inclusion agenda of countries with the compliance strength of the AML/CFT regime. The AML/CFT compliance index is the original idea of the author, which can be used as a quantitative measure to capture the strength of the AML/CFT regimes in future studies.

This paper aims to examine whether high levels of financial inclusion is associated with greater financial risk.

The study uses regression methodology to estimate the effect of financial inclusion on financial risk.

The findings reveal that higher account ownership is associated with greater financial risk through high non-performing loans and high-cost inefficiency in the financial sector of developed countries, advanced countries and transition economies. Increased use of debit cards, credit cards and digital finance products reduced risk in the financial sector of advanced countries and developed countries but not for transition economies and developing countries. The findings also show that the combined use of digital finance products with increased formal account ownership improves financial sector efficiency in developing countries while the combined use of credit cards with increased formal account ownership reduces insolvency risk and improves financial sector efficiency in developing countries.

The paper offers several implications for policy and financial regulation. It suggests policies that would reduce the financial risk that financial inclusion poses to the financial sector.

The recent interest in financial inclusion and the unintended consequences of policy-driven financial inclusion in some parts of the world is raising concern about the risks that financial inclusion may introduce to the formal financial sector. Little is known about the risks that financial inclusion may pose to the financial sector.

This paper aims to critically assess digital finance as a pro-poor intervention in the development finance space.

Using critical policy discourse analysis, this paper explains the turn from microfinance to digital finance, and thereafter discusses four issues: the lack of evidence that digital finance for poor people actually promotes socioeconomic development; the risks that poor people are exposed to, which arises from their exposure to digital finance technology; the lack of evidence that digital finance actually brings poor people immediate benefits; and the weak business rationale for digital finance.

The expectation for digital finance serving as a major pro-poor private sector intervention lacks justification.

The paper reflects on the effect of digital finance for poor people.