Financial access indicators of financial inclusion: a comparative analysis of SAARC countries

Abstract

Financial inclusion provides access to formal financial services at reasonable cost to the financially excluded people. Financial inclusion has been one of the most sought after topics in recent times for policy makers, researchers and academicians. Definition of financial inclusion varies from region to region. Financial inclusion is measured using different indicator. The important indicators of financial inclusion measurement include access indicators, usage indicators, quality indicators and financial education indicators. Most of the researchers use access indicators and usage indicators to measure financial inclusion. Access indicators comprise of demographic and geographic branch penetration, demographic and geographic ATM penetration and population per branch. This study focuses on comparative analysis of access indicators of financial inclusion in SAARC countries. The study is based on secondary data available in the central banks of SAARC nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The study has found and analysed about the countries which has performed well in each indicator of financial access.