Digital payments can expand financial inclusion — but only under the right conditions

By Mesbah Sharaf, Professor of Economics, University of Alberta
Abdelhalem Shahen, Associate professor, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University

Digital payments are often presented as a way to bring more people into the financial system. Mobile wallets, online transfers and app-based payment systems are now central to how governments, banks and technology firms talk about expanding access to financial services.

This is particularly significant today. Around the world, governments are investing heavily in digital finance as part of broader development and sustainability strategies. In Canada,…

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