Breaking Barriers to Financial Access: Cross-Platform Digital Payments and Credit Markets

We thank seminar participants at ABFER, American University, Bank of International Settlements, BIS-CEPR-Gerzensee-SFI Conference on Financial Intermediation, George Mason University, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Fed Philadelphia/Univ of Delaware Fintech conference, Fordham University, Henry Thornston memorial lecture, Bayes University, Imperial College, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Institute for Economic Growth, Delhi, London Business School, National University of Singapore, RIETI International Workshop, Tokyo, Taiwan Symposium on Innovation Economics and Entrepreneurship, Taipei, University of California, Berkeley, UMIF seminar, UNC Conference on wealth and inequality, University of Texas, Austin, University of Texas, Dallas, University of Tokyo, University of Zurich, Vanderbilt University, WEFIDEV-RFS-CEPR Conference in Finance and Development, WFA conference, and the World Bank for providing useful feedback. We also thank Advait Moharir, Amartya Rajamalla, Debargha Som, and Nruhari Viswanath for excellent research assistance. All opinions expressed in this paper reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of the RBI, CAFRAL, or the National Bureau of Economic Research.

• December 20, 2024
• July 14, 2025
• August 26, 2025