Digital financial inclusion in the banking sector: an exploratory study of access, trust and digital inequality in Maputo City

The digitalisation of banking services has been presented as a central driver of financial inclusion in developing contexts, although it may deepen exclusion where access to the internet, devices and digital skills is unequally distributed. This study analyses the perceptions of digital banking users in Maputo City across five dimensions: accessibility and quality, trust and security, effective financial inclusion, digital inequality, and perceived inclusive performance. An exploratory, cross-sectional quantitative approach was adopted, using a structured, self-administered online questionnaire comprising 29 dichotomous items grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT/UTAUT2), the integrative model of organisational trust and the theory of successive levels of digital access. The final sample comprised 12 eligible respondents, and the data were analysed using descriptive statistics and simple thematic content analysis. The results show high levels of agreement in the dimensions of effective financial inclusion (84.7%), perceived inclusive performance (81.9%) and accessibility and quality (80.6%), an intermediate level in trust and security (75.0%), and a more heterogeneous perception of digital inequality (55.6%), associated mainly with the cost of internet access and network quality. It is concluded that digital banking is perceived as an enabler of financial inclusion, although barriers relating to the cost and quality of access persist. Given the small sample size, the study is a pilot and its results cannot be generalised; it nonetheless provides a basis for future research with larger, representative samples. Keywords: Digital financial inclusion; Digital banking; Trust; Digital divide; Mozambique English translation of the article "Inclusão financeira digital no sector bancário: estudo exploratório sobre acesso, confiança e desigualdade digital na Cidade de Maputo", originally published in Portuguese in the Revista Científica Chinhamapere, 7.ª edição (2026), pp. 68–77. Translated into British English and editorially harmonised by Prof. Doutor Agripah Laissone Kandiero (Editor and Translation Editor). Original authorship and rights preserved.