Access to finance can decide whether people move forward or stay trapped. When credit is limited to those with formal jobs and collateral, entire communities are locked out of opportunity. For small farmers, shop owners, and women in rural areas, a loan, a savings account, or a simple way to transfer money can change daily life. In Sri Lanka, nearly 50% of adults remain outside the formal financial system. Even though many hold bank accounts, borrowing often means turning to informal lenders or community savings groups that operate without regulation or security.
Banks remain concentrated in cities, and lending to rural clients is often limited by cost and risk. The gap goes beyond finance. When households cannot save or borrow, they remain one economic shock away from crisis. Inclusive finance, designed to reach people wherever they live and whatever they earn, is not a social gesture. It is a practical way to strengthen economies from the ground up. Recently, the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) gathered in Colombo to highlight how inclusive finance can serve social and environmental progress.
The Sri Lankan context: Who is left out and why
Many in rural districts still rely on informal lenders or community savings groups that operate without regulation. For them, a trip to the nearest bank can mean travelling 30kilometres or more for simple transactions. Even where basic accounts exist, access to credit remains limited, especially for small businesses and households without formal income records. The lack of rural banking infrastructure has kept formal finance concentrated in cities, leaving small businesses, farmers, and low-income families with few options. Years of economic contraction and high borrowing costs have worsened the strain.
Nilantha Jayanetti, Chief Executive of Sarvodaya Development Finance
Nilantha Jayanetti, Chief Executive of Sarvodaya Development Finance, explained that in certain contexts, even small interventions can close large gaps. In the rural district of Ampara, they installed 118 mini-ATMs to bring basic banking within reach of nearby villages that previously lacked regular access. “Now 15 villages do their day-to-day transactions locally,” he said. The change has saved around 2 hours per visit and about Rs2 million each month in combined transport and opportunity costs.
Channa de Silva, Chairman of Sarvodaya Development Finance
Expanding such efforts remains difficult. Channa De Silva, Chairman of Sarvodaya Development Finance, noted that finance companies still face regulatory limits that make it hard to extend access points like mini-ATMs. Current rules require central approval, a process that often delays or restricts innovation. Policymakers have begun to address these gaps, but progress is slow. Digital tools such as QR payments and mobile banking continue to spread, yet many remain outside their reach.
Global lessons in financial inclusion
Sri Lanka’s experience reflects a global reality. Across both developed and developing economies, banks and regulators are rethinking how finance can reach more people and create broader social value. Some are redesigning products to fund sustainable projects, while others are using technology or regulation to extend access in underserved areas. For Sri Lanka, where regulation and reach still constrain progress, these approaches offer lessons on how inclusion can work in practice and how finance can serve people without losing commercial discipline.
Martin Rohner, Executive Director of the GABV
Digital technologies are transforming access to finance, especially in developing economies. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the world’s most difficult markets for financial access, Martin Rohner, Executive Director of the GABV, said technology is already bridging that gap. He pointed to Finca, a microfinance institution that has digitalised its operations to reach clients in remote communities that commercial banks seldom serve. Rohner said such experiences “can be transferred to other contexts,” showing how technology, when used with intent, can make finance more inclusive.
David Reiling, Chief Executive of Sunrise Banks and the Chair of the GABV
Elsewhere, banks are showing how finance itself can advance sustainability. David Reiling, Chief Executive of Sunrise Banks in the United States and Chair of the GABV, described a net-zero deposit account that links customer savings to carbon-neutral lending. “Any customer can come into the bank and designate their depos its to the net-zero deposit fund. Then we make loans that are carbon neutral. For example, we financed a net-zero apartment building using tax credits and other layers of financing.” The model shows how traditional banking tools can fund sustainable development with out departing from commercial principles.
Why inclusion is the next test for finance
Inclusive finance, which extends beyond account ownership to meaningful access to credit, is how financial systems remain relevant, resilient, and profitable in a changing world. The experiences of Sri Lanka and other countries show that inclusion, whether through rural access, digital tools, or sustainable lending, builds both trust and growth. The task for Sri Lanka is to align regulation, innovation, and purpose so that finance reaches those still excluded. Inclusion is not about shrinking the balance sheet to do good, but about using it to create a positive impact and expanding it again to reach further.