SOCIAL INEQUALITY AND ACCESS TO DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES

Abstract

Background: Digital financial services can lower the physical cost of reaching customers, but access is only the first step. People need a usable device, connectivity, identification, confidence, affordable products and enough financial resilience to benefit from an account. Aims: This article examines the mechanisms that connect the topic to organizational or policy performance and identifies the conditions that make those mechanisms stronger or weaker. Research Method: A structured narrative review integrates peer-reviewed research with authoritative policy, statistical, and professional sources, including BPS (2026); OECD (2024b). Sources are coded by outcome, mechanism, boundary condition, and practical implication. Results and Conclusion: The synthesis indicates that outcomes are heterogeneous. Digitalization can reproduce inequality when services assume constant connectivity, high literacy or confidence with automated interfaces. An account that is technically available but rarely used for saving, borrowing or risk management should not be treated as full inclusion. Six recurring themes show that implementation quality, information, capability, and institutional context frequently matter as much as the headline policy or technology. Contribution: The article offers an evidence-based framework for households, small businesses and financial- service providers that translates the literature into decision principles without claiming primary data that were not collected.