CONCEPTUAL EVOLUTION OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Abstract

Financial inclusion is one of the tools to stimulate economic growth, arguably due to following reason: affordable access to financial services wills re-duce the vulnerability of poor population by improving their standard of living. The concept of financial inclusion can be traced back in 1993 with its contrary concept financial exclusion is a process that prevents poor and disadvantaged social groups from gaining access to the formal financial systems of their countries. Many studies have been conducted exploring the negative shades of Financial Exclusion. The discussion on financial exclusion and its surrounded constraints have brought the concept of financial inclusion into the picture. The term Financial Inclusion has introduced as a positive contrary to the concept Financial Exclusion and had gone through various changes in its definition and its understanding. The present has attempted to trace the evolution of the concept financial inclusion (from physical to digital) and its changing scope. For the purpose of the study more than 150 articles have been reviewed and comprehensively interpreted. The understanding of the researcher on the concept of financial inclusion and its changing form is narrated in the paper. KEYWORDS – Financial Exclusion, Financial Inclusion, Financial Services, Financial access, Usage, Digital Financial inclusion