Financial inclusion in the regions of Kazakhstan

Financial inclusion is a concept aimed at ensuring the accessibility of financial services and products to all segments of society, including vulnerable segments of population and rural remote areas. This process is of strategic importance for reducing poverty, improving quality of life and stimulating sustainable economic growth. The relevance of this topic remains despite the significant successes of financial organizations in terms of expanding their capabilities to provide financial services to various categories of clients. Digital technologies play a significant role in this process, thanks to which access to financial services has become more universal and convenient. The article discusses the key aspects of financial inclusion, the methodological basis for assessing the level of financial inclusion, and also analyzes the availability of financial products and services in the regions of Kazakhstan. The main goal of this study is to quantitatively assess the level of financial inclusion in different regions of Kazakhstan for a more detailed study of differences in the level of financial inclusion of territorial units. The study has used data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Bureau of National Statistics. Methods of statistical analysis, quantitative analysis of indicators, including the approach of weighted values  and data normalization, as well as cartographic analysis of the geographical accessibility of financial services (heat maps) were used. The results obtained make it possible to identify factors affecting the availability of financial products in the regions and offer recommendations for reducing territorial imbalances.

1. Zhang Z., Song J., Shu T., Zhao T. (2024) Changes in rural financial exclusion’s supply and demand factors from the perspective of digital inclusive financial policies // Cogent Economics & Finance. Vol. 12. No. 1. P. 1–24. (In English).

2. Financial inclusion. World Bank Group. URL: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview (accessed: 15.10.2024). (In English).

3. Atkinson A., Messy F. (2013) Promoting Financial Inclusion through Financial Education: OECD/INFE Evidence, Policies and Practice // OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private. Pensions No. 34. (In English).

4. Leyshon A., Thrift N. (1995) Geographies of Financial Exclusion: Financial Abandonment in Britain and the United States // Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. Vol. 20. No. 3. P. 312–341. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/622654. (In English).

5. Collard S., Kempson E., Whyley C. Tackling financial exclusion // The Policy Press. 2001. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242463026_Tackling_financial_exclusion. (In English).

6. Launch of the G20 Basic Set of Financial Inclusion Indicators. The Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion. URL: https://www.gpfi.org/featured/launch-g20-basic-set-financial-inclusion-indicators. (In English).

7. Sarma M. (2008) Index of Financial Inclusion. Indian Council or research on International Economic Relation // Working Paper. No. 215. URL: https://www.icrier.org/pdf/Working_Paper_215.pdf. (In English).

8. Ghosh C., Chaudhury R. (2024) Ranking of countries based on multi-dimensional financial inclusion index: A global perspective// International Journal of Finance & Economics. No. 29. P. 1345–1377. (In English).

9. Bozkurt I., Karakuş R. (2020) Provincial Financial Inclusion in Turkey: Measurement and Its Spatial Determinants // EGE ACADEMIC REVIEW. No. 2. P. 101–124. (In English).

10. Podinovskij V. (2019) Idei i metody teorii vazhnosti kriteriev // Nauka. (In Russian).

11. Elouaourti Z., Ezzahid E. (2022) Factors of regional financial inclusion in Morocco // Regional Science Policy & Practice, pp. 1–37. (In English).

12. Bjuro nacional'noj statistiki Agentstva po strategicheskomu planirovaniju i reformam Resp ubliki Kazahstan. URL: https://stat.gov.kz/ru/industries/social-statistics/demography/publications/184901/ (data obrashhenija: 15.10.2024). (In Russian).

13. Nacional'nyj bank Respubliki Kazahstan. URL: https://www.nationalbank.kz/ (data obrashhenija: 15.10.2024). (In Russian).

14. Yue P., Korkmaz A., Yin Z., Zhou H. (2022) The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap? // Finance Research Letters. Volume 47. Part A. P. 1–8. (In English).

15. Demir A., Pesqué-Cela V., Altunbas Y., Murinde V. (2022) Fintech, financial inclusion and income inequality: a quantile regression approach // The European Journal of Finance. Vol. 28. No. 1. P. 86–107. (In English).

16. Koncepcija razvitija Open API i Open Banking v Respublike Kazahstan na 2023–2025 gody. URL: https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/ardfm/documents/details/417488?lang=ru (data obrashhenija: 15.10.2024). (In Russian).