COVID -19 and Digital Financial Inclusion: Policies and Innovation That can Accelerate Financial Inclusion in a Post-COVID World Through Fintech

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic came as a shock, prompting governments around the world to impose lockdowns to prevent the disease from spreading. Demands of social distance and quarantine measures forced millions of people to embrace digital banking tools for the first time. Many people began using e-commerce, online education, and other services sparking interest in digital financial instruments. The pandemic provided an opportunity for the banking sector's digital revolution by improving financial inclusion chances. Hence, this study aims propose new policies and methods that governments might use to increase financial inclusion in the post-COVID-19 environment by utilising fintech products. Using secondary sources of data through documentary analysis, the study discovered the importance of investing in better infrastructure that can promote better payment services through fintech, increase trust in the use of fintech financial services, investment in cybersecurity of fintech financial services and investment in artificial intelligence among other initiatives. The study concludes that following this recommendation can help to further improve financial inclusion prospects even after the COVID-19 pandemic.