Financial inclusion in rural region—a review and research agenda

Abstract This article systematically reviews the state of financial inclusion in rural regions to consolidate fragmented knowledge, identify research gaps, and propose a future research agenda. Following the SPAR-4-SLR (Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews) protocol, 107 peer-reviewed articles indexed in Web of Science between 2010 andApril 2025 were selected and analyzed. The evidence is synthesized using the Antecedents-Decisions-Outcomes (ADO) and Theories-Contexts-Methods (TCM) frameworks. The review shows a sharp rise in financial inclusion research after 2020, with a strong concentration of studies in a few emerging economies and a predominant focus on access and usage, while availability and adoption of financial technology remain relatively underexplored. Outcomes are mainly examined in terms of economic and social effects, with limited attention to technological and environmental dimensions. The analysis also reveals weak theoretical grounding in a majority of studies, a narrow contextual focus on specific countries and populations, and heavy reliance on regression-based quantitative methods. Building on these findings, the article develops a structured agenda that highlights theoretical, contextual, and methodological directions for future work By focusing explicitly on rural regions and integrating both traditional and digital perspectives of financial inclusion, this review offers novel insights for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to design more inclusive and sustainable rural financial systems.