Distance from financial service points
When financial service points are located far from where women live, the time and cost required to reach them can be prohibitive. This reduces both women’s initial access and sustained use of financial systems. Financial infrastructure tends to concentrate in high-traffic areas, leaving rural and underserved communities behind. In India, approximately 52% of the rural population lives more than five kilometers from their nearest bank agent or branch. Where accessing services requires significant travel, women - who often face limited time availability, safety concerns, and mobility constraints - are less able to be included in the financial ecosystem.
15 Connected Barriers
Most Relevant Segments
- 01. Excluded, marginalized
- 02. Excluded, high potential
- 03. Included, underserved
- 04. Included, not underserved
Most Relevant Customer Journey Phases
- Phase 1: Account Ownership
- Phase 2: Basic Account Usage
- Phase 3: Active Account Usage
- Phase 4: Economic Empowerment
Key Evidence
Evidence shows that proximity to financial service points is a key determinant of usage, not just access. Even where services are technically available, distance and travel constraints reduce transaction frequency and account activity among women. This is compounded by the concentration of agents and branches in commercially viable areas, which can leave lower-density or more remote communities underserved.
Distance to financial service points remains a structural constraint on women’s financial inclusion. Where accessing services requires significant travel, women - who often face tighter time, safety, and mobility constraints - are less able to engage consistently. As a result, the design and placement of financial infrastructure plays a critical role in shaping who can realistically participate in formal financial systems.
- Distance to agents and limited access to cash-in/cash-out (CICO) points remain key constraints to the use of digital financial services, particularly for rural and low-income populations. Evidence shows a strong relationship between agent network coverage and usage of financial services, but expansion alone does not guarantee inclusion - women continue to face barriers related to mobility, safety, and social norms that limit their ability to access these points. (CGAP 2023)
- In India, approximately 52% of the rural population resides more than five kilometers from their nearest Business Correspondent (BC) agent or bank branch. For example, in the Navapur block, located in Nandurbar district of the state of Maharashtra, only a few villages fall within a one-kilometer radius of an agent outlet. (MicroSave Consulting, 2019)
- Recent cross-country analysis shows that digital and financial infrastructure, including access points and connectivity, plays a significant role in reducing gender gaps in financial inclusion. Where infrastructure is weak or unevenly distributed, gender disparities widen, reinforcing exclusion among women in rural and low-income settings. (Borsa Istanbul Revie 2026)
- Women often spend more of their day closer to home than men and place a higher value on convenience when accessing financial services. As a result, physical distance from service points makes formal financial services less accessible to them. Beyond geography, many women also experience an “emotional distance” when engaging with financial institutions. They may feel that these institutions do not reflect or represent their interests, which can reduce trust and discourage them from using available financial services. (Barr et al., 2018)
- Interviews with financial services providers found that 27.8% of institutions identified proximity to financial institutions as a barrier for their women customers, with only 11.1% indicating it was easy to fix. (Women's World Banking, 2025)
Interventions that have successfully addressed this barrier
The following Exemplar represents one evidence-based interventions that has shown success in addressing this particular barrier. There may be other Exemplars for this barrier in the larger Barriers & Exemplars Analysis compendium deck.
A study on customer preferences for agent gender, transaction amounts, and agent gender preferences in markets with low female agent presence.
16 Connected Exemplars
