Dinesh Khara, the Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), Friday said Covid-19 boosted the adoption of digital financial services since 2020.
About 40% of adults in developing economies, excluding China, use digital payment methods. Khara said 11 key priority sector themes have been identified to advance financial inclusion. These include gender and diversity inclusive finance, reducing the cost of borrowing for underserved segments, targeted intervention of agriculture and rural segments, incentivising cross-border payments and innovation, increasing insurance, savings and wealth management penetration, enhancing consumer protection, inclusive policy design and governance
Overall, Khara said the B20 India Task has identified the three pillars to promote financial inclusion. “The three pillars identified by the B20 India Task Force on Financial Inclusion for Economic Empowerment were ecosystem and enablers, products legal and regulatory requirements. We developed a framework for financial inclusion and economic empowerment, defined priorities for financial inclusion, and made policy recommendations,” Khara informed.