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UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIOURS
BUILDING CAPABILITIES
ENABLING FINANCIAL AGENCY

UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIOURS
BUILDING CAPABILITIES
ENABLING FINANCIAL AGENCY

FINACT - RESEARCH AND ACTION FOR FINANCIAL INCLUSION

The Change Catalyst

FINACT (RESEARCH AND ACTION FOR FINANCIAL INCLUSION) is a program developed by Swadhaar FinAccess in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). As a Resource Hub for Financial Inclusion, FINACT offers a human-centric approach and actionable insights towards building financial capability and agency for women and their families in India’s underserved rural geographies. Swadhaar FinAccess is a Section-8 organization focused on financial inclusion and the empowerment of low-income households in India. Over the past two decades, Swadhaar has built a deep expertise in the financial literacy space with a consistent objective to address key gaps in the financial services ecosystem like gender and geography. Swadhaar’s operational network reaches out to over 2 million people annually in the marginalized rural and tribal regions of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar, to impart financial and digital literacy training and facilitate product linkages. Empowering individuals to take charge of their finances requires a focus on building trust in the financial system, along with the confidence to undertake transactions, including digital ones. Swadhaar employs a multifaceted approach, with physical centres at the district level, trainers visiting villages and peer educators drawn from and embedded within local communities.
FINACT (RESEARCH AND ACTION FOR FINANCIAL INCLUSION) is a program developed by Swadhaar FinAccess in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). As a Resource Hub for Financial Inclusion, FINACT offers a human-centric approach and actionable insights towards building financial capability and agency for women and their families in India’s underserved rural geographies. Swadhaar FinAccess is a Section-8 organization focused on financial inclusion and the empowerment of low-income households in India. Over the past two decades, Swadhaar has built a deep expertise in the financial literacy space with a consistent objective to address key gaps in the financial services ecosystem like gender and geography. Swadhaar’s operational network reaches out to over 2 million people annually in the marginalized rural and tribal regions of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar, to impart financial and digital literacy training and facilitate product linkages. Empowering individuals to take charge of their finances requires a focus on building trust in the financial system, along with the confidence to undertake transactions, including digital ones. Swadhaar employs a multifaceted approach, with physical centres at the district level, trainers visiting villages and peer educators drawn from and embedded within local communities.

IMMERSIVE, ON-GROUND INITIATIVES

FINACT builds on Swadhaar’s training experience, through behaviour science focused research and data analysis to complement and enhance learning outcomes. Through our work at FINACT, we delve deeper into our target client segments, and study barriers and enablers to confidence as first-time users of technology.

Collaborating with leading industry experts, FINACT uses iterative on-ground interventions rooted in human centred design to test and identify a comprehensive pathway toward financial resilience and agency and gain a deeper understanding of what motivates and drives change. The results provide valuable insights into how the effectiveness of financial services and training interventions can be increased.

Through Swadhaar’s on-ground experience, FINACT closely links research and action to develop, test and share ideas and content with other key sector stakeholder (Funders, NGOs, Financial Service Providers) and to clients and trainers for training tools and self-learning opportunities.

Karishma Kashyap is a 27-year-old housewife in Bandheya Village, Jharkhand. She is a housewife and seasonal labourer, while her husband is a driver. Karishma didn’t make independent financial decisions in her household but was eager to negotiate and save within her circumstance. She struggled to understand more about financial products and was hesitant to make transactions.

After attending a training by Swadhaar, she slowly built a better understanding of different financial products and the confidence to take small but significant steps towards her family’s financial resilience – she got an insurance policy for her husband and herself and opened a Recurring Deposit account to manage her savings. Motivated by the desire to do what she could to help others in her community, she even joined Swadhaar as a Community Volunteer.

She works in close collaboration with Swadhaar’s Field Trainers to mobilize participants for trainings, follow up post training for product linkages, and to share information about products and services with others. Through her work, she has helped and inspired others in her community to make informed decisions about their finances, making her a beacon of positive change.

Karishma Kashyap is a 27-year-old housewife in Bandheya Village, Jharkhand. She is a housewife and seasonal labourer, while her husband is a driver. After attending a training by Swadhaar, she started taking small but significant steps to build her family’s financial resilience, by buying insurance for her family and opening a Recurring Deposit account. Motivated by the desire to do what she could to help others in her community, she joined us as a Community Volunteer.

She works in close collaboration with Swadhaar’s Field Trainers to mobilize participants for trainings, to follow up post training for product linkages, and to share information about products and services with others. Through her work, she has helped and inspired others in her community to make informed decisions about their finances, making her a beacon of positive change.

LEVERAGING A NETWORK APPROACH

Build collaborative relationships around a shared vision

Swadhaar FINACT Resource Hub

BUILDING A BRIDGE BETWEEN SUPPLY AND DEMAND

When Swadhaar began its work in 2005, the core issue was one of limited supply of financial services for the poor, and efforts were focused on strengthening supply and building pathways to access. Today, the market is supply-heavy with financial services layered onto multiple digital platforms – with the Digital Public infrastructure in place today, the bank is actually in the customers’ hands.

To effectively use the existing Financial Services Ecosystem, underserved customers need to navigate various platforms and layers of access. FINACT works to unpack and understand the demand for financial services better, removing barriers to access, by building clients’ capabilities to interpret and understand supply better.

BRINGING FINANCIAL SERVICES CLOSER TO THOSE WHO NEED IT THE MOST

OUR ADVISORS

Veena Mankar

Founder & Mentor
Swadhaar FinAccess

ABHISHEK AGRAWAL

Chief Regional Officer
ACCION, Asia

SUGANDH SAXENA

CEO, Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment

SUMAN SRIVASTAVA

Founder and Innovation Artist at Marketing Unplugged

OUR PARTNERS

603, Shree Prasad House, 35th Road, TPS - III, Bandra (West), Mumbai - 400050

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Ranjana had a bank account, but it stayed unused as her bank was too far. She had heard of Customer Service Centres (CSCs) but she was hesitant to visit them and not sure what she would need to do there to operate her account. After the Swadhaar training, she met other women who faced similar issues – with support from this peer group and helped by Swadhaar’s trainers she began to visit the CSC to make small deposits in her savings account, slowly building her confidence in engaging with the financial ecosystem.

Ranjana Chhotu Bariya
22 years, Daily Wage Labourer

Ranjana had a bank account, but it stayed unused as her bank was too far. She had heard of Customer Service Centres (CSCs) but she was hesitant to visit them and not sure what she would need to do there to operate her account. After the Swadhaar training, she met other women who faced similar issues – with support from this peer group and helped by Swadhaar’s trainers she began to visit the CSC to make small deposits in her savings account, slowly building her confidence in engaging with the financial ecosystem.

Ranjana Chhotu Bariya

22 years, Daily Wage Labourer

Hasiyani had got a life insurance policy for her husband and herself but was not able to find details on her premium payments despite several attempts. Frustrated by these challenges and intimidated by the bank, Hasiyani had nearly given up on being able to avail the benefits if needed. At the Swadhaar training she learnt about customer grievance redressal and visited the bank along with Swadhaar’s trainer to raise a complaint and have her premium payment details updated. This gave her the confidence to continue visiting the bank and become an engaged customer.

Hasiyani Bhengra
32 years, Housewife and Farmer
Hasiyani had got a life insurance policy for her husband and herself but was not able to find details on her premium payments despite several attempts. Frustrated by these challenges and intimidated by the bank, Hasiyani had nearly given up on being able to avail the benefits if needed. At the Swadhaar training she learnt about customer grievance redressal and visited the bank along with Swadhaar’s trainer to raise a complaint and have her premium payment details updated. This gave her the confidence to continue visiting the bank and become an engaged customer.
Hasiyani Bhengra
32 years, Housewife and Farmer
Selena wanted to open a savings account but needed to complete the KYC requirements and was unsure about the process. As one of the few families in the village without savings accounts, she and her husband were hesitant to ask for help and not sure whom to approach. They attended the Swadhaar training and followed up by coming to the Swadhaar product camp – here Swadhaar’s trainers helped them fill out forms, answered their questions and open their accounts, taking their first foundational steps towards financial planning. They also met other families like them, creating a peer group that could support each other.
Selena Murmur
42 years, Construction Worker
Selena wanted to open a savings account but needed to complete the KYC requirements and was unsure about the process. As one of the few families in the village without savings accounts, she and her husband were hesitant to ask for help and not sure whom to approach. They attended the Swadhaar training and followed up by coming to the Swadhaar product camp – here Swadhaar’s trainers helped them fill out forms, answered their questions and open their accounts, taking their first foundational steps towards financial planning. They also met other families like them, creating a peer group that could support each other.
Selena Murmur
42 years, Construction Worker

Rekha dreams of sending her daughter to college and wants to put money aside for her daughter’s education. Other than a small daily wage income of her own, she is able to save some money from the monthly remittance sent by her husband to cover household expenses. She attended a Swadhaar training and heard about the Sukanya Samridhi Yojana (SSY), a long-term savings scheme. She was not sure however that her husband will agree to opening this and wondered how to convince him. Luckily, she had met Sarita didi at the training, an older SHG leader in the village who came home to help her talk to her husband about taking the SSY scheme. At the next Swadhaar product camp she opened the SSY account and now deposits money in it every few months.

Rekha Kashyap
30 years, Daily Wage Worker

Rekha dreams of sending her daughter to college and wants to put money aside for her daughter’s education. Other than a small daily wage income of her own, she is able to save some money from the monthly remittance sent by her husband to cover household expenses. She attended a Swadhaar training and heard about the Sukanya Samridhi Yojana (SSY), a long-term savings scheme. She was not sure however that her husband will agree to opening this and wondered how to convince him. Luckily, she had met Sarita didi at the training, an older SHG leader in the village who came home to help her talk to her husband about taking the SSY scheme. At the next Swadhaar product camp she opened the SSY account and now deposits money in it every few months.

Rekha Kashyap
30 years, Daily Wage Worker

Champa had a bank account that she used occasionally and didn’t have any other financial products. She wanted to save for her son’s upcoming wedding but was overwhelmed by the idea of going to a bank to ask about products. Her SHG group asked her to come along for a Swadhaar training and she was intrigued to hear about fixed deposits that would allow her to put money aside as well as earn interest on it. She visited a local bank with the Swadhaar trainer and her SHG group members and they all set up fixed deposits for their accounts. When her deposit matured in a year she reached out to the Swadhaar trainer and went back to withdraw the maturity amount, ready to plan for and celebrate the family wedding.

Champa Bai Dodva
43 years, Homemaker and SHG member
Champa had a bank account that she used occasionally and didn’t have any other financial products. She wanted to save for her son’s upcoming wedding but was overwhelmed by the idea of going to a bank to ask about products. Her SHG group asked her to come along for a Swadhaar training and she was intrigued to hear about fixed deposits that would allow her to put money aside as well as earn interest on it. She visited a local bank with the Swadhaar trainer and her SHG group members and they all set up fixed deposits for their accounts. When her deposit matured in a year she reached out to the Swadhaar trainer and went back to withdraw the maturity amount, ready to plan for and celebrate the family wedding.
Champa Bai Dodva
43 years, Homemaker and SHG member
Chanda has her own phone and was intrigued by the idea of digital banking, but stories of digital frauds made her wary of taking the first step. She attended a Swadhaar training with her neighbour and watched some training videos about digital safety. After follow up conversations with the Swadhaar trainers she also sent some videos to her husband, and they both felt reassured that they would be able to manage simple transactions safely and decided to set up UPI payment IDs with the Trainer’s assistance. Starting with simple balance updates, Chanda now uses her smartphone for digital transactions. Her husband who works in a nearby city, also sends her money for household expenditures through UPI.
Chanda Vinod
35 years, Homemaker
Chanda has her own phone and was intrigued by the idea of digital banking, but stories of digital frauds made her wary of taking the first step. She attended a Swadhaar training with her neighbour and watched some training videos about digital safety. After follow up conversations with the Swadhaar trainers she also sent some videos to her husband, and they both felt reassured that they would be able to manage simple transactions safely and decided to set up UPI payment IDs with the Trainer’s assistance. Starting with simple balance updates, Chanda now uses her smartphone for digital transactions. Her husband who works in a nearby city, also sends her money for household expenditures through UPI.
Chanda Vinod
35 years, Homemaker
Sundarbai, a daily wage labourer, is number literate but unable to read and write fluently. This made her nervous and hesitant about banking processes and she rarely used her savings account that she had opened to receive a government direct benefit transfer during the pandemic. Her young neighbour convinced her to attend a Swadhaar training and meet others like her who had started traveling together to the nearby Customer Service Centre to make transactions in their accounts. With them, Sundarbai faced her fears and started to make small deposits slowly building the confidence to transact independently.
Sundarbai Bodana
30 year, Labourer

Sundarbai, a daily wage labourer, is number literate but unable to read and write fluently. This made her nervous and hesitant about banking processes and she rarely used her savings account that she had opened to receive a government direct benefit transfer during the pandemic. Her young neighbour convinced her to attend a Swadhaar training and meet others like her who had started traveling together to the nearby Customer Service Centre to make transactions in their accounts. With them, Sundarbai faced her fears and started to make small deposits slowly building the confidence to transact independently.

Sundarbai Bodana
30 year, Labourer