Digital Financial Inclusion: A New Phenomenon of Commerce Education

Information & Communication Technology (ICT) is considered as one of the most effective means for social transformation that can recognized as an efficient tool for education. Due to the rapid advancement of internet facilities, mobile phones, laptops and other modern technology oriented devices, today’s world is going digitalized more rapidly. As technology dominates modern life so there is an emerging need to use ICT in education, commonly known as ‘Digital Education’. Digital Education is nothing but learning assisted by technology, where learning is not restricted within the four walls of a classroom but it can be expanded throughout the world due to the intimation of upgraded technologies in learning.

Financial inclusion or inclusive financing is the process of delivering financial services to the disadvantaged or lowered income group of the society in an affordable cost. The basic objective of the financial inclusion is to promote balanced economic and social development of the society. The process of financial inclusion includes the rendering the financial services to the weaker section, to use of that services by the weaker section and also to improve the financial literacy of the weaker section so that they become able to take their own financial decisions themselves. Two major organizations those are working to lead the process of financial inclusion to success are the banks and the micro-finance institutions. They have stretched their activities in rural areas to provide various financial services to the rural people.

In order to mobilize the financial inclusion program, focussing on the new technologies and the evolving business models, in the year 2016, G20 nations introduced High Level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion. The major objectives of these principles are to accelerate the government actions to drive financial inclusion using the digital technologies. The 2016 High Level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion are the followings:

1. Promote the digital financial services to develop the financial inclusion. It also includes the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the national strategies and action plans.
2. Balance between the innovation and risk aligned thereto to achieve digital financial inclusion. In order to do this, identification of risks, its assessment, monitoring and managing need to be done for every innovative strategy.
3. Provide a balanced legal and regulatory framework for digital financial inclusion.
4. Expand the infrastructure for digital financial services framework. The digital financial services should be safe, reliable and low-cost and for all the relevant geographical areas, especially for the underserved rural areas.
5. Establish a wide-ranging approach for the consumers and protection of the data that focuses on issues which are specifically relevant to the digital financial services.
6. Support and evaluate the programs which help to improve the digital and financial literacy. For this purpose, evaluations are done on the basis of the unique characteristics, advantages and also the aligned risks of the digital financial services and channels.
7. Provide easy access to the different digital financial services to the customers by developing the customer identity systems, products and services that are accessible, affordable and verifiable. It is also required to balance the multiple needs and risks aligned thereto for a risk-based approach with due diligence.
8. Track the progress of digital financial inclusion program through an extensive and robust data measurement and evaluation system.

If we consider the present socio-economic scenario, during the Covid-19 and the aftermath, the digital financial inclusion program is the most emerging and appropriate policy for the governments to be undertaken. But, for making it successful, first it is very much necessary to educate the financially illiterate people.

Now, why the digital financial inclusion program will be benefitted by the commerce education? The Commerce education starts at 10+2 level. The financial literacy of the students under commerce education starts from this stage. As they move up to the higher classes, their knowledge relating to the different financial activities and services also grows up. They are always steps ahead of the students of the other streams in terms of financial literacy. Moreover, as the part of the new generation, they are tech savvy also. So, the commerce students are familiar with both financial literacy and digital education. As a result of that, their knowledge in this regard will undoubtedly go to help to educate, in terms of both digital and financial, their families and the people associated with them. Hence, somehow, it will promote the digital financial inclusion program, undertaken by the government. #CommerceEducation#