Introduction

Financial inclusion has emerged as an important social policy agenda over the past 20 years (Collard, 2007; Mitton, 2008; Marron, 2013; World Bank, 2014; Berry, 2015; Financial Inclusion Commission, 2015; Welsh Government, 2016). Financial inclusion refers broadly to the access that people or groups have to the financial system. The financial system covers areas such as banking, credit, insurance and savings (Berry, 2015; Appleyard et al, 2016; Salignac et al, 2016). Financial exclusion refers to the idea that certain people or groups are denied access to the financial system, and the attention then tends to be on widening participation. Vulnerable groups such as those on low incomes, lone parents or minority ethnic communities may have been excluded from mainstream financial services.

A literature has emerged that is very critical of financial inclusion and sees this as part of the ‘financialisation of everyday life’ (for a sample of this literature, see Leyshon et al, 2004; Langley, 2008; Montgomerie, 2008; Froud et al, 2010; French et al, 2011; Marron, 2013, 2014; Berry, 2015). The critical literature refers mainly to research published in academic journals or books. As Berry (2015: 510) writes: ‘Financial inclusion has invariably been presented as a progressive “response” to financialisation, yet by increasing participation in the financial system, and subjecting greater numbers of people to risks associated with engaging with the financial system, financial inclusion also serves to advance the process of financialisation.’ As Berry (2015) notes, financial inclusion is usually presented by government as an avowedly progressive agenda, in that it aims to reduce the inequalities that vulnerable groups, such as single parents or those on low incomes, face in participating in the financial system. Despite this progressive intent, critics claim that financial inclusion ultimately exposes people to the risks associated with the financial system. Critics also see financial inclusion as part of a wider regressive policy of shrinking the welfare state to meet austerity and ideological goals after the 2007–08 global financial crisis.

The supportive literature comes mainly from the policy sector, such as think tanks, politicians, government departments or policy commissions, and is published within policy reports, pamphlets or think pieces (for a sample, see HM Treasury, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2013; Financial Inclusion Taskforce, 2010, 2011a, 2011b; Financial Inclusion Commission, 2015; House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion, 2017).