Leveraging geospatial technology for financial inclusion Photo: Kdonmuang/Shutterstock Bringing financial access points—such as bank branches, mobile-money agents, and ATMs—close to people is a way to reduce barriers to financial inclusion. The poor distribution of these services often leaves individuals, especially those living in remote areas, with restricted or no access to financial services. To help address this challenge, many authorities have been using traditional tools to monitor and track financial access, such as through country-led, demand-side financial inclusion surveys and supply-side supervisory templates. But these tools have limitations. , according to the report Leveraging Geospatial Technology for Financial Inclusion. The recently launched report, which draws on insights and lessons learned through the Financial Inclusion Support Framework (FISF) program, provides guidance to financial sector authorities and related stakeholders on benefits and methodologies for mapping and analyzing the distribution of financial access points.