*2.3. Conclusion and Policy Recommendations*

The research was premised on investigating the impact of AI on digital financial inclusion. Digital financial inclusion is becoming central in the debate on how to ensure that people who are at the lower levels of the pyramid become financially active. On the other hand, fintech companies are taking advantage of the availability of AI to apply its applications to ensure that the goal of digital financial inclusion is realized that is to include groups of low-income earners, the poor, women, youths, small businesses in the mainstream financial market. The study discovered that AI has a strong influence on digital financial inclusion in areas related to risk detection, measurement and management, addressing the problem of information asymmetry, availing customer support and helpdesk through chatbots and fraud detection and cybersecurity. On the aspect of risk, AI is transforming financial inclusion through the widespread use of algorithms to automate risk detection management and measurement. This enables vulnerable groups of women, youths and small businesses such as smallholder farmers, who were excluded from the formal financial market in the traditional banking sector driven by issues around risk, to access banking services. Considering issues related to information asymmetry, digital financial inclusion through AI can have access to various online shopping platforms and social networks which produces a large amount of information on individuals; this will help to do away with the problem of information asymmetry between financial institutions and individuals, thus increasing the financial inclusion. These are some of the areas where AI is influencing digital financial inclusion among many other issues discussed. It is also important to note that though many people have a lot of misgivings about AI in the industry 4.0, it is, however, important to notice that AI is providing subatantial assistance in the digital financial inclusion sphere. Therefore, this study recommends that financial institutions and non-financial institutions adopt and scale up the use of AI as it presents benefits in the quest to ensure that people who were previously unable to participate in the formal financial market can do so with ease.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.

#### **References**


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