Financial Services Use and Emerging Digital Pathways

This paper reports key findings on financial behavior among Indian adults. The focus is on the access and use of banking services and mobile money services, as well as triggers and barriers for potential uptake. The analysis presented is based on a nationally representative survey of 45,024 Indian adults, ages 15 and older, on access to financial services and barriers and potential for future users. The analysis is also based on a qualitative study with government-payment beneficiaries in the state of Maharashtra that focused on the potential for digital government payments to expand financial inclusion. The paper covers the followings sections in detail:

• Background of financial services in India;
• Key findings on general financial behavior in India, and on digital financial services with data on digital financial inclusion indicators both at a country-wide level and state-wide level;
• Findings on banking services access and use trends with data relating to active bank and bank location preferences;
• Meaning of mobile money services with an emphasis on mobile phone access and emerging mobile money services;
• Potential for digitized government payments with a qualitative analysis of such payments. It also identifies the issues with these payments and provides recommendations to further financial inclusion through direct government payments.