Financial Inclusion Is Not Just a Bank Account

Financial inclusion has been a hot topic among policymakers, banks and fintechs alike for the past decade, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic when governments were trying to get funds to support the most vulnerable in society. Despite financial inclusion being at an all-time high, 1.3 billion adults worldwide still remain outside the formal financial system, according to the World Bank Global Findex 2025 report.

Part of the problem lies in the misconception that financial inclusion is mostly about giving people a bank account. That’s not inclusion – that’s onboarding.

While access to a bank account is important, true financial inclusion is about continuous engagement and empowerment. It’s not inclusion if someone opens an account but doesn’t understand the terms, can’t afford the fees or never uses it because it doesn’t fit their reality.

The World Bank defines financial inclusion as individuals and businesses being able to access affordable financial products and services that meet their needs, which are delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.

Another misconception is that low-income users aren’t digitally savvy. The real issue is that the financial systems designed for them are often clunky, patronising or completely detached from local context.

We need to move beyond the old “banking the unbanked” narrative. Inclusion isn’t about ticking a box – it’s about designing for real-life use. At Plumery, we treat inclusion as a journey. Products must adapt to people, not the other way around.

Today, we are seeing some truly impactful fintech solutions driving financial inclusion, especially those that meet people where they are, not where the infrastructure assumes they should be.

In Africa, digital wallets and embedded finance through telcos continue to thrive, particularly when bundled with microcredit and insurance. Platforms that integrate Know Your Customer (KYC), payments and lending into a single onboarding flow, even on feature phones, are seeing real traction.

Digital banking fintech PalmPay, for example, has reached 35 million users by pre-installing its app on affordable smartphones. Payment infrastructure provider, Flutterwave, has become foundational for small and medium-sized enterprises across the continent, breaking down payment and infrastructure barriers.

In Southeast Asia, buy now, pay later models built for informal merchants and gig workers are filling financing gaps that traditional banks overlooked due to documentation and risk concerns.

India continues to lead in innovation. The Reserve Bank of India’s focus on making banking work on feature phones, not just smartphones, reminds us that true inclusion means designing for constraints. The Unified Payments Interface, combined with banking platforms like Sarvatra, has brought digital finance to even the most remote communities.

In Latin America, Sendwave is transforming remittances. Its mobile-first, low-cost model supports families relying on cross-border flows, making financial access faster, cheaper and fairer.

Perhaps a third misconception is that financial exclusion only occurs in developing economies. A 2024 report found that 23% of UK adults, which is around 12.1 million people, had difficulty accessing a financial product or service and the UK government has focused much attention on addressing this issue.

However, the barriers to inclusion are often different. In developing markets, infrastructure gaps – such as limited internet, unreliable electricity and underdeveloped identity (ID) systems – are the main hurdles and make it harder to deliver digital financial services at scale. But the deeper challenge is that access doesn’t automatically equal trust or meaningful use. Infrastructure may technically exist, but many people still distrust formal institutions, especially if past experiences included hidden fees or services they couldn’t access or understand. Language, literacy, and gender norms often affect uptake in subtle but powerful ways.

The lack of a formal ID continues to block millions from onboarding. Even when onboarding is possible, cash remains dominant, especially in rural areas, meaning that digital services must coexist with informal economies. And while financial literacy might appear low in formal terms, the real issue is that tools often aren’t designed to reflect people’s financial reality or speak their language.

People will only engage with the formal financial system if it is designed and delivered in a way that meets their needs, when and where they want it, and at a price point that they can afford. This is the starting point on the journey to solving financial exclusion.