ABSTRACT
This chapter looks beyond the simple holding a formal bank account as an indicator of financial inclusion and also explores the channels through which to access finance. It shows that dual banking is an important aspect of access to finance as its determinant differs from the determinant of accessing formal finance. Gender gaps in formal banking are quite high in favor of men, especially in urban areas. Females living in urban areas tend to be twice more likely to dually bank than their counterparts in rural areas, at 8.19 percent compared with 4.45 percent. Inversely, poor women are less likely to dually bank than non-poor women. Independent of gender, the perception figures of financial illiteracy in rural areas are much higher than those in urban areas. In the same way, the poor highly perceive financial illiteracy as a constraint to inclusion more than the non-poor.
