Service Continuity, Assisted Access, and Digital Financial Inclusion in Rural Banks: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

This conceptual review examines how rural banks can distinguish digital account ownership from usable, continuous financial access. A purposive synthesis of four publications issued between 2005 and 2022 informs an original framework connecting routine access, operational continuity, assisted recovery, and confidentiality. The paper develops propositions and a proposed measurement agenda; it reports no surveys, administrative observations, causal estimates, or empirical validation. The central argument is that access during disruption and recovery deserves separate assessment from initial adoption. The framework is intended as a basis for subsequent local testing, with explicit attention to customers who require assistance and to the limits of transferring concepts from electronic commerce and international banking guidance.