The Financial Inclusion Index is a statistic for measuring the extent to which a population or country participates in the financial system. Some highlights of the Financial Inclusion Index include:
Measurement: The index measures how often people and organizations utilize financial services including banking, savings, loans, insurance, and digital payment systems.
Indicators: The index measures financial inclusion using the percentage of individuals with a bank account, formal financial service use,
credit access, banking infrastructure, and digital financial solutions.
Inclusive Growth: The index helps policymakers and scholars understand how financial inclusion affects economic development, poverty alleviation, and societal advancement.
Global indexes: The World Bank, IMF, and WEF issue financial inclusion indexes to assess nations’ progress and suggest areas for improvement.
Policy Implications: Governments and policymakers use the index to identify gaps and design policies and interventions to increase financial inclusion, such as promoting banks and financial institutions, digital payment systems, and financial literacy programs.
Monitoring Progress: The indicator helps nations track financial inclusion progress and alter plans.
Impact Evaluation: The index helps policymakers evaluate financial inclusion efforts and better allocate resources.
Inclusion Challenges: The index identifies financial inclusion barriers like rural banking access, high transaction costs, regulatory constraints, lack of financial literacy, and gender disparities.
Data-driven Decision Making: The index collects and analyzes data to enable evidence-based decision-making and stakeholder cooperation to increase financial inclusion.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Financial inclusion supports the UN’s SDGs, especially Goal 1 (No Poverty) and Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). The Financial Inclusion Index tracks these aims.
The Financial Inclusion Index’s methodology and metrics differ per organization or organization.