Financial Inclusion Through Banking for the Poor: A Study on Cycle Rickshaw Pullers in West Bengal

Financial services actively contribute to the economic development of society. This leads to social safety that protects people from economic shocks. The present study seeks to ascertain whether cycle rickshaw pullers of West Bengal have bank accounts and to also investigate if bank account awareness among cycle rickshaw pullers are affected by different socio-economic factors. The study has been conducted on 170 rickshaw pullers who belong to the poor and marginalized sections of society. The study uses logistic regression to estimate important factors that influence the opening of a bank account. The goodness of fit of the model is checked in terms of the Hosmer–Lemeshow test. A large percentage of this group of rickshaw pullers is excluded from banking services. Among the 10 explanatory variables, the study finds that the number of years pulling cycle rickshaws, the monthly income and social participation are the factors that significantly influence the opening of a bank account. It has been observed that the respondents have meager incomes, low levels of health care and personal well-being, lives entrapped in poverty and are, on the whole, excluded from the mainstream. To include them in the mainstream financial services, the study suggests valid recommendations to draw the attention of the regulators and banks towards financial inclusion. JEL Codes: G21, G29