Has Financial Inclusion Made the Financial Sector Riskier?

Abstract

This paper examines whether high levels of financial inclusion is associated with greater financial risk. The findings reveal that higher account ownership is associated with greater financial risk through high nonperforming loan and high cost inefficiency in the financial sector of developed countries, advanced countries and transition economies. Increased use of debit cards, credit cards and digital finance products reduced risk in the financial sector of advanced countries and developed countries but not for transition economies and developing countries. The findings also show that the combined use of digital finance products with increased formal account ownership improves financial sector efficiency in developing countries while the combined use of credit cards with increased formal account ownership reduces insolvency risk and improves financial sector efficiency in developing countries.