With the World Economic Forum warning of a deepening digital divide that will ultimately exacerbate global inequality, the role of intuitive digital financial services platforms in bridging this divide is becoming more important than ever before. Indeed, next generation tools that provide essential financial services – savings accounts, global money transfers, loans, etc – to customers in an accessible way, are becoming a powerful force for change by driving financial inclusion in developing economies. The global health crisis and national lockdowns have illustrated this point – and revealed that when informal cash out services became less accessible to communities, for instance, people were able to turn to intuitive digital financial services platforms, supported by physical distribution infrastructures, to send and receive money when they needed it most. And having interacted with these digital channels for the first time, many users discover that they can fulfil other financial aspirations and needs simply by following the user journey and providing ongoing feedback. Today, it is these seamless and increasingly digitised user journeys, supported and driven by incremental, customer-led fintech innovation, that are disrupting the financial services ecosystem, effectively banking the unbanked…and elevating financial literacy where it is most needed. Beyond Fintech: an empowering journey to financial freedom The Mukuru app demonstrates the way in which digitised user journeys are a powerful and equalising force within global financial services Simply by looking at recent trends in remittance flows, one can grasp the growing role of digitised banking services in empowering marginalised communities and people…
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