A New Financial Access Frontier: People with Disabilities

This background note discusses how the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) and the Disability and Development Team of the World Bank can contribute to increasing access to financial services for poor people with disabilities.

The large number of people who are excluded from access to financial services because of disabilities constitute an important frontier of financial inclusion and a significant business opportunity for providers. CFI cannot realize its goal of full financial inclusion if this segment of the market continues to be marginalized. The paper identifies the following main areas of action and change through which financial institutions can advance inclusion:

• Partnering with local disability organizations for effective outreach;
• Training microfinance staff to increase their sensitivity and their awareness of the potential of persons with disabilities to be good clients;
• Hiring people with disabilities;
• Improving physical access to banking facilities;
• Using technology solutions;
• Developing legal frameworks that respect the right of people with disabilities to make financial decisions.

The paper recommends that microfinance providers and disability organizations should work together to advance the human and economic rights of persons with disabilities.