Modern aspects of the development of financial inclusion in rural areas of the Russian Federation

Federal Rostov Agrarian Scientific Center (FRASC), 346735, Institutskaya str., 1, Rassvet village, Rostov region, Russia

^* Corresponding author: svetlana.podgorskaya@gmail.com

Abstract

The article considers financial inclusion as the most important means of achieving sustainable comprehensive economic growth. It is established that in the new model of sustainable development of rural areas, the financial involvement of households and small and medium-sized businesses is of particular importance. However, in Russia, among all segments of the population, the most excluded category from financial and economic interaction is precisely rural residents. The main reasons for this situation are digital inequality in the form of low availability of digital communications (Internet and mobile communications) for the rural population, the low level of digital and financial competencies of the villagers, and the low level of income of rural households. Despite the government’s policy to increase the financial accessibility of banking services and eliminate digital inequality, in regulatory and policy documents, references to rural areas are either indirect or absent. Today, there is a boom in the digitalization of financial services; the level of development of information technologies allows you to create more convenient, efficient and mobile products that do not require visits to bank branches and face-to-face consultations. At the same time, such digitalization can become a threat to the development of financial inclusion in rural areas. In this regard, are needed special programs to improve the financial and digital literacy of the rural population, as well as a system of accessible consulting support on lending issues.