Affiliation:
1. VES Institute of Technology, India
2. Institute of Management Technology, India
Abstract
Financial services have a ubiquitous need however the urban rich have easy and universal access with wider options, compared to the low-income group who are forced to accept informal, expensive and riskier means to fulfill their financial needs. The demand and supply of financial services for the poor is imbalanced, with supply being acutely constrained by lack of viability and sustainability of current business models. Technology and IT has a pivotal role in making financial inclusion a viable reality. Technology, including information technology can enable lowering costs by increasing automation, enhancing efficiency, enabling scaling up through uniformity, consistency and security. Multiple technology choices are available to financial service providers but few have been proven yet. This paper examines technology options at the front end and back-end in detail with a critique of alternatives available for financial inclusion in Indian context.
Reference43 articles.
1. Community Development Finance: A Neo-Market Solution to Social Exclusion?
2. GSM Association. (2010). Mobile signatures whitepaper: Best practises.
3. Worried Sick: The Experience of Debt Problems and their Relationship with Health, Illness and Disability
4. Bharathan, V., & Bhargava, S. (2009). How inclusion centred financial infrastructure can change the lives of 300 million Indians. The EKo series on Financial Inclusion, India.