The relationship between financial inclusion and women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh: The moderating effect of agent banking

Abstract

The importance of financial inclusion (FI) for women’s empowerment (WE) has been demonstrated in recent studies. However, it still needs to be determined how FI might assist women in gaining power. The purpose of this research is to learn how financial institutions (FIs) interact with women’s empowerment through agent banking (AB) (WEs). Using a quantitative research design—The study includes 408 women residing in rural Bangladesh. As demonstrated, agent banking moderates the favorable effect of financial inclusion on economic and social empowerment, suggesting that this effect is indirect. These results suggest that financial inclusion strengthens women’s power when financial institutions prioritize the development of agent banking. Despite the importance of expanding access to banking services, more is needed to increase women’s empowerment if institutions adopt agent banking practices.