SIGNIFICANT HURDLES IN MAKING FULL RANGE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES AVAILABLE TO ALL

Despite making rapid strides in digital transactions and expansion of universal banking services to the last mile, there are still significant hurdles in making the full range of financial services available to all sections of the population, especially those in low income groups and senior citizens.

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That's according to a report 'Financial Inclusion Challenges' released by IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP) and IITM Incubation Cell. The report, released on Tuesday, was aimed at highlighting the gaps in financial inclusion despite the transformation in the financial services sector over the last decade.

Significant transformation

The report said over the last decade, financial services in India had undergone significant transformation driven by technology enablers and supported by the government and regulators such as RBI. While Jan-Dhan Yojana has increased the banking penetration with over 44.5 crore new accounts created since 2015, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) had a meteoric rise in adoption with monthly transaction value jumping from ?0.38 crore in July 2016 to ?8.27-lakh crore in February 2022.