Billions of people around the world remain excluded from the formal financial system - unable to open a bank account, access credit, or build savings. But financial exclusion isn't only a story of the underserved in emerging markets. Increasingly, individuals, businesses, and even entire industries in developed economies are finding themselves on the outside looking in - quietly cut off from the very institutions meant to serve them.
This session examines the full spectrum of financial access challenges, from the structural and infrastructural barriers facing underserved communities worldwide, to the growing phenomenon of account closures and service denials that are reshaping trust in traditional banking.