There are plenty of financial products, like loans, mortgages and credit cards, that can help us achieve big goals. Unfortunately, financial services can also be incredibly restrictive, shutting those who could benefit the most from using them out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Since the early 2000\u2019s, the idea of combating poverty and leveling the playing field through financial inclusion has gained more popularity. But what does financial inclusion really mean, and is it really possible to achieve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the simplest terms, financial inclusion is the process of allowing more individuals and businesses to access affordable and useful financial products like banking, loans, insurance products and equity. The hope is to help those who are financially excluded build wealth and security, like the unbanked (those who don\u2019t have bank accounts or a mobile money provider) and underbanked (those who don\u2019t have sufficient access to services like credit cards or loans).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the World Bank\u2019s Global Findex database, about 1.7 billion adults worldwide are unbanked<\/a>. Here in the U.S., we aren\u2019t immune to the problem \u2014 about 7% of our population is unbanked<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unbanked and underbanked individuals live all over the world, but some demographics are affected more than others. <\/p>\n\n\nWho\u2019s Unbanked?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n