Advancing Financial Inclusion by Embracing Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract: Financial inclusion is an effective way to eliminate poverty and augment economic growth as per UNDP. At the same time the cost of disseminating financial services to the unbanked population in the underdeveloped and developing economies is a big challenge for the policy makers. The emergence of FinTech companies have somehow improved the consumption of financial services and reduced the operating cost significantly in the desired sector. On the other aspect, the immense amount of personal data generated through the fintech companies has raised the concerned for data protection and privacy. India has shown a tremendous growth with 78% of adults holds an active account since 2017 displaying great potential. The research will study threats and windows of opportunity associated with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning and its impact on traditional banking system in India. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, Financial Inclusion, Fintech, banking, Machine Learning