Improving Digital Financial Inclusion In International Development:A Case Study

This paper examines the development of Digital Financial Inclusion(DFI)from the social phenomenon of the emergence and widespread use of Digital Financial Services(DFS),focusing on cases in the international development field.The emergence and rapid spread of digital financial services have profoundly changed the landscape of the traditional financial industry.Not only have banks and financial institutions started to actively adopt digital technologies,but many fintech companies have also joined the financial industry as new service providers.Mobile payment platforms,digital money,mobile banking and other services are widely used,and the user groups served have expanded to include many groups previously underserved or even excluded by the traditional financial system,such as women,poor people,micro and small business owners and people in rural areas.This brings formal,fast and convenient financial services to them,and it is by means of digital technology that digital inclusion accommodates the excluded and underserved.Digital inclusive finance brings new opportunities for these disadvantaged groups.Digital financial services,including lower cost remittances,easier payments,and safer lending,all bring more possibilities for tangible improvements in their lives.So the research question in this paper is,from a long-term perspective,how to bring more people,especially the disadvantaged,into financial inclusion through digital financial services to truly improve their lives.A more specific research question is to combine the concept of digital financial inclusion with international development and explore the key factors that affect the success of international development projects of digital inclusive finance,because only when digital financial service development projects have a larger impact in the international context will financial inclusion be truly realized.Through literature review and theoretical analysis,this paper draws on the analysis framework of international development projects of digital technology in agriculture,government and other fields,and summarizes the tripartite analysis framework of stakeholders by combining the characteristics and development trend of digital financial services,namely,fintech companies-philanthropic organizations--development organizations and governments.By clarifying their identities,objectives and comparative analysis of project results,the article concludes that fintech companies are the technology providers of the project,philanthropic organizations assist in project advocacy,and development organizations and governments are the policy makers and lead the project objectives and processes.The three parties reached a deep cooperation of mutual trust and sharing through the four pillars of data sharing,capacity development,policy advocacy,and innovation incentives in the project process.The goal-setting that meets the interests of all parties and the project implementation that is mutually supportive are essential to achieve the expected results of the project.The article makes a contribution at the intersection of digital technology,international development,and financial inclusion,summarizing an explanatory theoretical framework and applying it to particular cases to draw general patterns.It lays the foundation for subsequent research to expand in breadth and depth,not only to more international development cases,but also to go deeper to establish a more comprehensive theoretical framework.