From financial inclusion to financial health of refugees: urging for a shift in perspective

Abstract

Based on new empirical insights gained in a multi-country project with a particular focus on Jordan as a hotspot of international development in the context of forced displacement, the paper in hand stages the relevance of the concept of financial health vis-à-vis financial inclusion to better support the financial lives of refugees. Financial inclusion of refugees – allowing them to store, borrow, and transfer money, insure against shocks, and pay bills through the formal financial infrastructure of host countries – has become a well-established practice in endeavours of economic integration in protracted displacement. Such access is expected to enable refugees to rebuild their livelihoods and become self-reliant. In other contexts, however, there is increasing acknowledgement that financial services are only a means to an end and not the end itself, resulting in a push for a shift in focus to a more holistic approach. Applying this understanding to the context of forced displacement, our research demonstrates that financial services are only one, and often not the most important, input to improve the self-reliance of refugees. In the absence of supportive conditions, such as access to jobs, identity and long-term certainty, financial inclusion investments can only improve refugees’ financial lives at the margins.