Financial services access and economic growth in Asean Country / Asma Aziemah Mahmod

This research provides evidence on the influence of financial services access towards economic growth in selected ASEAN countries. There is empirical evidence that shows financial inclusion has been a crucial factor in order to contribute to economic growth. The previous study conducted to examine the impact of financial inclusion on the growth of the economy in the country of India for a period of seven years (Iqbal & Sami, 2017). It has been concluded that financial inclusion is strongly associated with economic progress and development but proper financial inclusion regulation is a need in the Indian country to access financial services and customer awareness. The issue that arises on financial inclusion arc 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked, yet two-thirds of them own a mobile phone that could help them access financial services (World Bank, 2018). The main reasons for financial exclusion are a distance from a branch, branch timings, unsuitable products, cumbersome documentation and procedure and etc. Due to all these reasons, excluded groups feel it easier to borrow money from informal credit sources (Weekly, 2014). Thus, the purpose of this research is to identify how financial service access influences economic growth. The findings results from this research found that the financial services access can influence the economic growth in ASEAN countries. The model can be explained by the number of ATMs, a number of bank branches, and loan deposit ratio.