American technology company Mastercard released a study about the financial needs of disabled individuals, supported by innovative technology solutions (ITS), to address the needs of this segment of society across the Middle East and Africa.
The study, titled “Bridging the Disability Gap: An Opportunity to Make a Positive Impact,” indicates that digital inclusion is the pathway to financial inclusion for persons with disabilities.
Umar Hashmi, Vice President, Global Product and Engineering for Mastercard, said: “At Mastercard, we are a purpose-driven organization and put into practice our belief in ‘doing well by doing good.’ Diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of who we are, and we bring this to life by deploying products, services, and partnerships that are aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), based on leaving no-one behind.”
According to the latest available data, one billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability, constituting the largest minority group in the world. Types of disabilities include visual, hearing, speech, mobility, cognitive, and psycho-social ailments.
The Mastercard study has also shown real-life case studies of individuals with disabilities having to depend on others to perform simple financial tasks.
One interviewee said: “You should be able to access financial services in privacy; no one should know the details of your banking transactions, your balance, and how much you are spending.” Others spoke about how digital access to services would make a significant difference to their financial independence.
A 2019 UN report cites data that show individuals with disabilities consider 28% of banks in developed countries to be inaccessible, while respondents stated that banks in emerging economies were 8% to 64% inaccessible to the disabled.
However, Mastercard highlighted some efforts made by governments across the world to address this issue. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) for example, enforced a federal law pertaining to the Rights of People with Disabilities, as the Emirati NBD bank has imparted Disability Equality Training to over 2,100 of its staff and has also taught them American Sign Language.
The bank’s Disability Friendly Branch project, implemented in 2016, aims to facilitate and ease the banking experience for disabled citizens.
According to the Mastercard white paper, in the Middle East and Africa, using digital inclusion as the pathway to financial inclusion for persons with disabilities must involve reducing the gap in smartphone ownership, mobile internet usage, and digital literacy.
The report also revealed that approximately 63% of the world’s population is now online since the pandemic. Research in select low- and middle-income countries in the Middle East and Africa shows that, despite a large mobile disability gap, widening at each stage of the user’s journey, 62% of adults with disabilities own mobile phones, and 21% own smartphones.
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