A real alternative for a society without access to financial services

Written by Davies on / Reading time: 4 minutes.

Among the many outstanding and common places that inhabit the edges of the world, there is one that include a population that cannot access such basic and necessary thing such as financial services. In the world, there are millions of people without access to formal banking services, "about 30% of the world's population does not have a bank account," and "in 25 developing countries studied by the World Bank, including Colombia, around 73% of people live without access to banking services". We do not say so, data published by the digital media “Dinero” affirms it.

What can we do in such situation? What alternatives have all those people who cannot access to these services?

We will talk about it in this post.

 

What is the problem?

Not be able to access to traditional bank services is a problem itself, because it is an indicator of the financial exclusion plaguing the world. With the aim of ending this problem, there have arisen alternatives which, so far, have not brought a definitive solution. The World Bank Group (WBG), for its part, has launched the initiative of Universal access to financial services by 2020 (UFA 2020), which indicates that:

  • “Financial inclusion is becoming a priority for the authorities”.
  • “Financial inclusion is a factor that leads to 7 of the 17 sustainable development goals”.

Currently, there is a gap between developed and developing countries that establishes the difference in access to banking services. Latin American countries such as Colombia or the Dominican Republic suffer the consequences of precarity in financial services. And it does go beyond that. The difference in men and women is also remarkable, as "more than 40% of women in the world do not have access to these services", according to Global Findex. In the same way, women are "20% less likely than men to have a bank account" and a "17% less likely than men to receive a loan from a formal financial institution".

We are facing with a real problem. What do you think in this regard?

 

Can cryptocurrencies contribute to financial inclusion?

The only answer can be Yes, especially considering its decentralized nature. Since its inception in 2009, the cryptocurrencies have been becoming a real alternative increasingly safer. The world dived into a banking system revolution, possibilities have multiplied, and the number of virtual currencies has increased.

Transactions from person to person without intermediaries may be the dream of many, but, for now, it is just the reality of those who have opted for these coins. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple and all those that have been emerging are the protagonists of the struggle for a decentralized system. People can be your own bank and have full control over your money.

Therefore, cryptocurrencies are a real alternative for transforming that part of the population that cannot access to the traditional bank. What would happen if all of them accept the cryptocurrencies as a method of payment for your products and services? What if, they definitely chose this option to manage their money? What advantages will they gained by using a virtual currency to make loans and transactions? There is only one way to check it and it is betting on it.

Throughout its history, some Latin American countries have been involved in complex joints. In deep economic crisis which hit bitterly to families and businesses. They have been involved in the dream of a definitive economy recovery, but, despite those measures carried out to strengthen banking systems, because we have seen how, there is still lot of people excluded from their services.

Cryptocurrencies can occupy a key place in the people’s economic possibilities, because their call to financial inclusion could have a strong impact on poverty reduction.

 

Taking advantage of the use of smartphones

We usually read headlines of the type 'The use of mobile phone doubles'. It has become part of our daily life. It also not surprising to observe spectacular data on these indicators. We do not even wonder how it would be like to dispense with this type of appliance. In Latin America, "the use of cellphones to access internet is a trend that seems to have no turning back, no matter the age range in which mobile users are", as El Economista shown.

What if this phenomenon not only contributed to the development of an economy of applications for industries, but also do so with financial services? If about 5,000 million unique users used mobile phone, 5,000 million users would have in their hands a device from which to perform transactions and loans, as well as manage their own money. Although it is hard to believe, the reality is that cryptocurrencies can achieve this, and other targets are being developed.

People have in their hands the opportunity to be their own bank. A simple implementation of cryptocurrencies can change the way in which you store and spend your money. We are talking about data that have exceeded for the first time to the world population.

Thus, cryptocurrencies may be an effective alternative for all those people who, according to the data, are outside the financial system, to begin being part of a shared economy.