All About the State: Fifty Years of Innovative Technology to Deliver an Inclusive Financial Sector

Abstract

This paper documents the long-term nature of technological innovations which have transformed retail finance and addressed financial exclusion. The paper also contributes to the body of literature on the state as an entrepreneur. The roots of financial inclusion are traced back to the 1960s with a discussion of the role played by the state, in contrast to that of the private sector and disruptive innovation. The case of the world-recognised mobile payment service M-Pesa, which has been credited with transforming access to financial services in Africa, is then examined. The empirical results suggest that the state was actively involved in the development and deployment of applications of information and communication technologies which led to M-Pesa. This study provides support for policies that promote mobile banking technology as a means of enhancing financial inclusion. The study also confirms that public-private partnerships, together with an enabling regulatory environment, facilitate technological innovation.

Financial untouchability: a polysemic narrative of digital financial inclusion in Modi’s India

“…[insert Figure 3 about here] The Indian narrative of technological financial inclusion included mobile communications like Kenya's well-known M-Pesa example does (Maurer 2013 andBatiz-Lazo et al 2020) but is unique in the sense that it connotes beyond mobile money and mobile banking. The JAM trinity is a historically significant developmental project.…”