Abstract
Financial inclusion is crucial to the development of societies, and the innovations of the fourth industrial revolution (“4IR”) make it possible to reach extents previously thought difficult, financially unviable or practically impossible to venture.1 Low-income earners and rural dwellers are mostly excluded from mainstream domestic economic structures. Such individuals and businesses lack access to financial services such as payments, savings, credit and insurance.2 The consequences are dire and vast. The negative impacts can be conveniently characterised into three interrelated dimensions. These are financial consequences, socio-economic consequences and social consequences.3 Financially, individuals find it difficult to “raise, allocate and use their monetary resources”.4 Socio-economically, individuals’ patterns of consumption, participation in economic activities or access to social welfare and the distribution of income and wealth are impacted.5 This affects the quality of life. Socially, financial exclusion affects the individual’s self-esteem, contributions to the society and participation in communal growth and development...
LL.M. (Banking Law)