While today’s world is becoming increasingly cashless, it is hard to imagine living without a bank account. Banking is considered a safe and stable way to manage its finances. Alternative financial services are interpreted as exploitative and risky. As policymakers continue to emphasize the role of financial institutions in the poverty reduction, it is important to ask why people are shunning banks in favor of riskier, less convenient alternatives. One problem is that the banking system was not designed for low- and middle-class households. Charges are levied to combat overdraft fees, debit card fees, ATM withdrawal fees, transfer fees and other charges. These fees, which occur in every corner of the banking system, are a significant burden and barrier to entry for low- and middle-income people. To make matters worse, these fees are hard to avoid.
创新和金融普惠
金融服务行业拥有丰富的创新历史，从信用卡到互联网银行，但金融科技往往与新的初创企业联系在一起。传统金融公司普遍不满无法适应新的客户需求，这在一定程度上促进了金融科技行业的兴起。
金融科技创新的重点是分拆银行服务，并通过更好的客户服务、品牌和定价来改善零售客户的前端。
创新是由专门提供增强金融服务以客户为中心的方面的前端驱动的. Fintech startups provide a concept of “unbundling” banks that offer only one type of product or service and focus on doing just that. Organisations such as the World Bank, the G20 and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are taking a broad range of initiatives to enable people to make a more effective use of financial services. At the same time, payment and telecommunications companies such as Visa, Mastercard and Vodafone are bringing new financial services and opportunities to developing countries.
克服传统银行业务准入障碍并缩小金融包容性差距
当今金融普惠最明显且讨论最少的见解之一是无法获得银行或类似服务的人数。金融科技的进步可以帮助服务水平低下的社区更容易获得银行服务。数字支付系统和小额信贷等金融科技趋势有助于克服传统银行业务的准入障碍，并缩小金融包容性方面的差距。因此，通过提供简单、安全的信用转账、储蓄账户和移动支付服务，可以让成千上万的人进入银行系统。基本银行账户是实现更大包容性的第一步，可以作为获得其他金融服务的门户，例如用于创办和发展企业、投资教育和健康以及管理风险的信贷和保险。
尽管为世界各地的人们开设银行账户是一种过渡仪式，但世界上很大一部分人口仍然没有银行账户，并且不使用银行来满足其大部分财务需求。没有银行账户或资金不足的人倾向于使用其他形式的金融服务来满足他们的资金需求，例如支票和自动提款机、发薪日贷款和汇票。另类金融服务往往提供与传统银行类似的服务，但价格更高。它们可以为没有银行账户的客户提供好处，例如更方便地访问其账户，但它们通常比银行提供的同类账户更昂贵。
资金不足的人无法充分利用包括银行在内的传统金融服务。另一方面，它指的是不使用传统金融服务或无法获得传统金融服务的成年人。这些人没有充分利用这些服务，通常甚至银行也没有，而是求助于发薪日贷款、支票兑现服务、预付借记卡等替代方案。根据 2017 年 FDIC 的一项调查，52% 的美国家庭没有一个银行账户说他们没有足够的钱来管理账户。 世界上有 20 亿成年人没有银行账户，但其中三分之二拥有手机！ A third of adult (1.7 billion people) are without a bank account and more than half of people without a bank account – including women, people in poor households and rural areas – are unemployed.
The Federal Reserve recently found that half of US adults are unable to cover $400 in emergency spending without borrowing – a alarming statistic and speaks to the economic uncertainty that is an everyday reality for many. These regional imbalances can be attributed to the greater need for basic financial services in the underdeveloped world.
提供简单、安全的信用转账、储蓄账户和移动支付服务可以为许多欠发达国家带来巨大变化。在金融机构发达的国家，开设银行账户面临诸如正式身份证明、最低存款额以及使用互联网和当地银行分支机构等障碍。
In the United States, for example, there are 14 million people who have no bank account and 50 million who are underfunded. In some cases, people leave behind few data crumbs that can give clues as to who they are, why they are “bankrupt” or “undervalued,” or have no credit history. In other cases, consumers leave a trail, but this trail is not accessible to the companies and agencies that need it to verify the creditworthiness of a credit card, mobile phone plan, or home.
解决社会问题
致力于社会变革的金融科技公司不仅为用户提供卓越的客户服务，而且还在研究如何改善世界各地成千上万人的生活。金融科技行业已将改善消费者财务健康并使之民主化作为一个关键目标，但要实现这一目标，它必须更多地了解客户以及他们如何花钱。否则，金融服务公司的知识存在巨大差距，并且当客户是一个或多个少数族裔或服务不足群体的成员时，这种差距只会扩大。
为了成功实现金融包容性，各国必须在相关公共和私营部门之间表现出强有力的政治参与和协调，以便建立影响深远的政策框架，促进负责任地获得融资、财政能力、创新产品交付机制和高质量数据来影响政策制定。
进一步阅读
