TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION: POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66795/jafep46Keywords:
digital financial inclusion, fintech, poverty alleviation, mobile money, G2P payments, women’s financial inclusionAbstract
Technology-driven financial inclusion—through mobile money, branchless banking, digital IDs, and data-enabled credit—has become a practical pathway to reduce poverty and improve resilience in developing countries. In Pakistan, digital payments, government-to-person (G2P) transfers, and fintech innovation can lower transaction costs, expand access for women and rural households, and formalize microenterprise activity. However, inclusion gains are not automatic: weak consumer protection, digital fraud, unequal connectivity, low financial literacy, and exclusionary onboarding can deepen vulnerabilities. This article synthesizes evidence on how digital finance affects poverty via income smoothing, savings mobilization, credit access, and productivity improvements. It proposes a policy framework aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizing interoperable payment rails, risk-based digital KYC, gender intentional design, competition policy, data governance, and pro-poor product regulation. The paper concludes with implementable policy implications for regulators, social protection agencies, and industry to ensure inclusive, safe, and sustainable digital financial ecosystems.
Downloads
References
Beck, T., Demirgüç-Kunt, A., & Levine, R. (2007). Finance, inequality and the poor. Journal of Economic Growth, 12(1), 27–49.
Demirgüç-Kunt, A., Klapper, L., Singer, D., & Ansar, S. (2022). The Global Findex Database 2021: Financial Inclusion, Digital Payments, and Resilience in the Age of COVID-19. World Bank.
GSMA. (2023). State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2023. GSMA.
Jack, W., & Suri, T. (2016). The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money. Science, 354(6317), 1288–1292.
Karlan, D., Kendall, J., Mann, R., Pande, R., Suri, T., & Zinman, J. (2016). Research and impacts of digital financial services. NBER Working Paper (No. 22633).
CGAP. (2015). Financial Inclusion and the Role of Government. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor.
IMF. (2023). Financial Access Survey (FAS) Database. International Monetary Fund.
State Bank of Pakistan. (2015). National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS). SBP.
State Bank of Pakistan. (2020). Digital Payments: Adoption, Interoperability and Consumer Protection (policy/working documents). SBP.
World Bank. (2022). Pakistan Development Update: Reforms for Resilience (selected chapters on social protection and digitalization). World Bank.
Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). (2016). Consumer Protection and Digital Financial Services: Practical Guidance. AFI.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations.
Ahmad, N. R. (2024). AI-enabled public governance in developing states: Service delivery gains, accountability risks, and a practical risk-based regulatory model. World Journal of Applied Research and Policy. https://doi.org/10.52152/wja5db40
Ahmad, N. R. (2025). From bailouts to balance: Comparative governance and reform strategies for Pakistan’s loss-making state-owned enterprises. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 3(1), 120-134. https://doi.org/10.59075/t8pba787
Ahmad, N. R. (2025). AI-enabled public governance in developing states: Service delivery gains, accountability risks, and a practical risk-based regulatory model. World Journal of Administration, 5(2), 58-72. https://doi.org/10.52152/wja5db40
Yusoff, T., Abdulsamad, A., Muthaya, K., Seraj, A. H. A., Al-refaei, A. A.-A., & Sohail, N. (2026). SMEs sustainable growth model: The role of entrepreneurial intention, organizational culture, and networking capabilities. In R. K. Hamdan (Ed.), Integrating Big Data and IoT for Enhanced Decision-Making Systems in Business (Studies in Big Data, Vol. 178, pp. 239–250). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97613-1_21
Salhab, M. A., Sohail, N., & Ali, D. A. (2025). The impact of AI-driven tools on production efficiency and quality management with Cascadeur software. In 2025 International Conference on Metaverse and Current Trends in Computing (ICMCTC). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMCTC62214.2025.11196350
Maruf, T. I., Kowsar, A. M., Haque, A. K. M. A., Siddique, M. M., Sohail, N., & Mannan, M. (2024). The future of dining: Robotics hand-in restaurant service revolutionizes user experience in Kuala Lumpur. Journal of Education & Social Sciences, 27(1), 83–93. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13767084
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Usman Khalid , Sana Tariq (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles in the Journal of Applied Finance and Economic Policy are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license. Users may share, distribute, and adapt the content for any purpose, including commercial use, provided proper credit is given to the authors and the journal.
