Financial inclusion has a growing prominence on the global development agenda, with over 50 national-level policy-making and regulatory bodies publicly committing to financial inclusion strategies for their countries, according to the World Bank. There’s a strong consensus that access to suitable financial services can help poor households improve their lives while spurring economic activity. But what is the evidence for these positive impacts? CGAP tackled that topic in a recent Focus Note, which approaches the question from three angles: how financial inclusion can help poor households living and working in the informal economy; the impact it has at the microeconomic, local economy, and macroeconomic levels; and how inclusive, low-cost financial systems can generate additional, indirect benefits for both the public and private sector.
