The Role of Digital Wallet Providers in Enhancing Financial Inclusion: An Analytical Study of the Iraqi Experience (Published)
The study aimed to demonstrate the impact of digital wallets on enhancing financial inclusion variables (number of bank accounts, payment cards, ATMs, and POS devices). Data published on the Central Bank of Iraq’s statistical website was used, along with SPSS and Excel, to demonstrate the relationship results. The results showed positive regression coefficients in all models. The study concluded that increased payments via digital wallets are associated with an increase in bank accounts, cards, points of sale, and ATMs. This is a direct indication that the spread of digital wallets is not limited to digital transformation, but rather plays an effective role in advancing financial inclusion.
Keywords: ATM, Financial Inclusion, POS, digital wallets
CASHLESS POLICY AND BANKS’ PROFITABILITY IN NIGERIA (Published)
The transformation of the financial sector of the Nigerian economy has always occupied a cardinal position in the economic policies of all political administrations in Nigeria. Using electronic banking as a platform, the cashless policy was introduced to further deepen the financial market microstructure. This study examined the impact of cashless policy on the profitability of Nigerian banks, against the backdrop that these banks in a cash based economy are known for their huge profits even in the face of associated high cost of operations. Basically, will banks in the cashless regime still make as much profits as they use to make? To address this, secondary data were collected and analyzed using content analysis comparing profits under cash based policy with a cashless regime. The results revealed that cashless economic policy positively impact on banks’ profit through reduction in cost of operations and banking the unbanked populace.
Keywords: Cashless, Electronic Banking, Information Communication Technology, POS, financial reforms