War and Digital Financial Inclusion: Role of Digital Financial Services in War and Armed Conflict

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the trend in digital financial inclusion during war. It also explores the importance and challenges of digital financial inclusion during war. War and armed conflict adversely affect people. Their struggle to survive the war becomes even more difficult when they are unable to visit a bank branch to access formal financial services during war due to lockdowns and curfews that lead to the closure of physical financial access points. This study gathers insights from war data and shows that the use of digital financial services increased during war. The study also suggests some strategies for increasing the level of digital financial inclusion during war. The insights offered in this study can assist policymakers and financial service providers in ensuring that people in conflict zones have access to digital financial services to meet their subsistence and survival needs during war.