Digital technology has greatly expanded access to financial services over the past decade. Yet even today, the range and quality of services available to low-income customers remain limited because of constraints in the business models, management culture, and operating procedures of traditional banks. A new generation of fully digital retail banks has emerged and promises to offer more and better services through branch-lite distribution channels that reach underserved areas.
This Working Paper tells the stories of three of these banks: TymeBank in South Africa, Kotak 811 in India, and UnionBank in the Philippines. It takes a detailed look into how the selected businesses operate in their markets, what they do differently from traditional players, and how they are contributing to financial inclusion.
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Digital banks have created new possibilities for financial inclusion, but are digital banks actually reaching low-income customers? A new CGAP working paper, “Inclusive Digital Banking: Emerging Markets Case Studies,” presents emerging evidence suggesting that some digital banks