ANALYSIS OF FACTORS UNDERMINING ACCESS TO DIGITAL FINANCE AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN SELECTED AREAS IN NIGER STATE

Abstract

Financial inclusion ensures easy access to financial services by enabling the disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of the society to actively participate and contribute to activities that promote societal development. Nigeria has a sizeable rural population with limited access to conventional financial institutions. This necessitated this study on analysis of factors undermining access to digital finance and their influence on financial inclusion in rural areas in Niger State. The study adopted the survey research design. The population of the study is infinite. The study used snowball sampling technique. Primary data were sourced through a field survey using questionnaire. Respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement on a five-point Likert Scale (from 5= strongly agree to 1= strongly disagree). The questionnaire undergone content validity. Small portion of questionnaire were administered to ensure the instrument is reliable to carry out the study. The data collected from respondents were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Simple percentages was used to answer research questions and multiple regression to test the null hypotheses. The results show that digital finance significant affect financial inclusion (p: .000). The study recommends that deliberate efforts be made to spread access points to more rural areas to promote financial inclusion. This should include a policy roadmap for expanding financial services access points to unbanked and under banked areas.