Enhancing Financial Inclusion through Mobile Banking in Rural Pakistan: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

This research study examines the importance of mobile banking in increasing and supporting financial inclusion in rural Pakistan, the main focus is on how banking services can be more accessible to rural areas, detecting barricades to implementation, and appraising the effect on financial behavior and economic security The research strategy employed in this study is quantitative and descriptive. Data was collected using structured questionnaire surveys, which were administered across a target population of between 500 – 600 households in rural areas of selected districts of Pakistan. The survey collects data on the adoption of mobile banking, factors hampering adoption, changes in financial behavioral patterns, and economic well-being. The outcomes reveal majority of the mobile platform’s community of Easypaisa, Jazzcash, or even Upaisa have benefited economically from mobile banking since it increased their access to formal financial services greatly. Barriers such as low digital literacy (45 percent), Trust in the platforms (32 percent), and low mobile network coverage (20 percent) are still however, still the major contributors to the slow penetration of these banking technologies among older and less educated persons in the society. The evidence from the study also provides support for the assertion that mobile banking affects changes in financial behaviors, for instance, increasing savings and decreasing borrowing from informal systems. The important determinants of ICT adoption could to be determined, which consisted of mobile telephone network penetration. The study concludes with policy implications, such as recommending programs for increasing the population's earnings.