IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v100y2025ics1059056025002758.html

Financial inclusion and its impact on payment, savings, and credit

Author

Listed:
  • Gandelman, Néstor
  • Lluberas, Rodrigo
  • Misail, Daniel

Abstract

Access to financial services can affect various aspects of household financial behavior, such as payment methods, savings, and access to credit. Identifying effective policy tools and understanding which population segments benefit most from financial inclusion remain open questions. Uruguay's Financial Inclusion Program introduced VAT rebates, POS subsidies, and required wages to be paid through bank accounts. We assess the impact of the wage-banking channel. Our findings suggest that, while bank account provision increased debit card ownership, it had a limited effect on the likelihood of using cards, driven mainly by those who already held them before the reform. This indicates that the observed rise in debit card transactions was likely due to fiscal incentives. We also find no significant impact on access to short-term credit or savings behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Gandelman, Néstor & Lluberas, Rodrigo & Misail, Daniel, 2025. "Financial inclusion and its impact on payment, savings, and credit," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:100:y:2025:i:c:s1059056025002758
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2025.104112
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056025002758
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2025.104112?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pascaline Dupas & Dean Karlan & Jonathan Robinson & Diego Ubfal, 2018. "Banking the Unbanked? Evidence from Three Countries," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 257-297, April.
    2. Klee, Elizabeth, 2008. "How people pay: Evidence from grocery store data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 526-541, April.
    3. Huynh, Kim P. & Schmidt-Dengler, Philipp & Stix, Helmut, 2014. "Whenever and Wherever: The Role of Card Acceptance in the Transaction Demand for Money," Discussion Paper Series of SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems 472, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich.
    4. Carlos A. Arango & Dylan Hogg & Alyssa Lee, 2015. "Why Is Cash (Still) So Entrenched? Insights From Canadian Shopping Diaries," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 33(1), pages 141-158, January.
    5. Néstor Gandelman, 2017. "Do the rich save more in Latin America?," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 15(1), pages 75-92, March.
    6. Graciela Sanroman & Guillermo Santos, 2016. "Who Holds Credit Cards and Bank Accounts in Uruguay? Evidence from Survey of Uruguayan Households Finances," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Bernardo Batiz-Lazo & Leonidas Efthymiou (ed.), The Book of Payments, chapter 20, pages 211-229, Palgrave Macmillan.
    7. Elizabeth C. Klee, 2006. "Families' use of payment instruments during a decade of change in the U.S. payment system," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2006-01, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    8. Néstor Gandelman & Rodrigo Lluberas, 2024. "Wealth in Latin America: Evidence from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 70(1), pages 4-32, March.
    9. Rodrigo Lluberas, 2014. "How people pay in Uruguay: the role of transaction characteristics," Documentos de trabajo 2014005, Banco Central del Uruguay.
    10. Michael Cohen & Marc Rysman, 2012. "Payment choice with consumer panel data," Working Papers 13, University of Connecticut, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Charles J. Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy.
    11. Prina, Silvia, 2015. "Banking the poor via savings accounts: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 16-31.
    12. Karen E. Dynan & Jonathan Skinner & Stephen P. Zeldes, 2004. "Do the Rich Save More?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(2), pages 397-444, April.
    13. Borzekowski, Ron & Kiser, Elizabeth K., 2008. "The choice at the checkout: Quantifying demand across payment instruments," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 889-902, July.
    14. Ebonya Washington, 2006. "The Impact of Banking and Fringe Banking Regulation on the Number of Unbanked Americans," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 41(1).
    15. Anne Brockmeyer & Magaly Sáenz Somarriba, 2025. "Electronic Payment Technology and Tax Compliance: Evidence from Uruguay's Financial Inclusion Reform," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 242-272, February.
    16. Marc Rysman, 2007. "An Empirical Analysis Of Payment Card Usage," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 1-36, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gandelman, Néstor & Lluberas, Rodrigo & Misail, Daniel & IDB Invest, 2023. "The Impact of a Financial Inclusion Program on Household’s Payment Choice, Savings, and Credit," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12769, Inter-American Development Bank.
    2. Rodrigo Lluberas & Joaquín Saldain, 2014. "Paper or plastic? Payment instrument choice in Uruguay," Documentos de trabajo 2014007, Banco Central del Uruguay.
    3. Rodrigo Lluberas, 2018. "The effect of government intervention on households' payment instrument choice," Documentos de trabajo 2018010, Banco Central del Uruguay.
    4. Tamás Briglevics & Scott Schuh, 2020. "This Is What's in Your Wallet...and Here's How You Use It," Working Papers 20-04, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    5. Arango, Carlos & Huynh, Kim P. & Sabetti, Leonard, 2015. "Consumer payment choice: Merchant card acceptance versus pricing incentives," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 130-141.
    6. Rodrigo Lluberas, 2014. "How people pay in Uruguay: the role of transaction characteristics," Documentos de trabajo 2014005, Banco Central del Uruguay.
    7. Tobias Trütsch, 2016. "The impact of mobile payment on payment choice," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 30(3), pages 299-336, August.
    8. John Bagnall & David Bounie & Kim P. Huynh & Anneke Kosse & Tobias Schmidt & Scott Schuh, 2016. "Consumer Cash Usage: A Cross-Country Comparison with Payment Diary Survey Data," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 12(4), pages 1-61, December.
    9. Joanna Stavins, 2017. "How Do Consumers Make Their Payment Choices?," Consumer Payments Research Data Reports 2017-1, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    10. Naoki Wakamori & Angelika Welte, 2017. "Why Do Shoppers Use Cash? Evidence from Shopping Diary Data," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(1), pages 115-169, February.
    11. Vânia G. Silva & Esmeralda A. Ramalho & Carlos R. Vieira, 2017. "The Use of Cheques in the European Union: A Cross-Country Analysis," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 581-602, July.
    12. Arango, Carlos & Huynh, Kim P. & Sabetti, Leonard, 2011. "How do you pay? The role of incentives at the point-of-sale," Working Paper Series 1386, European Central Bank.
    13. Anneke Kosse & David-Jan Jansen, 2011. "Choosing how to pay: the influence of home country habits," DNB Working Papers 328, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    14. repec:cfe:wpcefa:2016_05 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Jasmina Arifovic & John Duffy & Janet Jiang, 2017. "Adoption of a New Payment System: Theory and Experimental Evidence," Working Papers 171801, University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics.
    16. Ulf Kalckreuth & Tobias Schmidt & Helmut Stix, 2014. "Choosing and using payment instruments: evidence from German microdata," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 1019-1055, May.
    17. Hyytinen Ari & Takalo Tuomas, 2009. "Consumer Awareness and the Use of Payment Media: Evidence from Young Finnish Consumers," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 8(2), pages 1-25, June.
    18. Pierre Bachas & Paul Gertler & Sean Higgins & Enrique Seira, 2021. "How Debit Cards Enable the Poor to Save More," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(4), pages 1913-1957, August.
    19. Arifovic, Jasmina & Duffy, John & Jiang, Janet Hua, 2023. "Adoption of a new payment method: Experimental evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    20. Alberto Di Iorio & Giorgia Rocco, 2025. "Easier Said Than Done: Why Italians Pay in Cash While Preferring Cashless," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 21(3), pages 155-184, July.
    21. Marc Rysman & Scott Schuh, 2017. "New Innovations in Payments," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 27-48.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G50 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:100:y:2025:i:c:s1059056025002758. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620165 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.