Collaboration Over Competition: Uniting Banks, Fintechs, and Mobile Operators for Financial Inclusivity.

For too long, the conversation around financial inclusivity has been framed as a competition. Banks view fintechs as disruptive upstarts. Fintechs see banks as sluggish giants. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), with their vast customer reach, often pursue standalone digital financial services. This fragmented race for market share misses the bigger picture: true financial inclusion demands collaboration, not competition.

The opportunity lies in building ecosystems, not silos. In the UK, for instance, Banking Hubs demonstrate the power of shared infrastructure, offering cash access and face-to-face services in underserved communities. This model of cooperation must go global.

As someone who spent six years as a director at Centenary Bank and joined trade missions in Nigeria and Kenya, I’ve seen the scale of financial exclusion firsthand. Globally, hundreds of millions remain outside the formal financial system, lacking secure savings, affordable credit, or reliable payment tools. No single player, bank, fintech, or MNO, can bridge this gap alone. Together, they can transform lives.

What Each Player Brings to the Table

Banks offer trust, capital, and regulatory expertise. Their established relationships and robust balance sheets ensure financial stability, but their infrastructure often struggles to reach rural or underserved communities.

Fintechs deliver agility, innovation, and personalisation. From intuitive apps to alternative credit scoring and digital wallets, they excel at serving first-time or low-income users. Yet they often lack scale, regulatory know-how, and widespread trust.

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) provide unparalleled reach. In emerging markets, SIM penetration dwarfs bank account ownership. MNOs’ mobile money platforms and agent networks can deliver financial services to remote areas where physical branches are impractical.

It’s worth clarifying the terminology here. When discussing financial inclusion in emerging markets, the focus is usually on MNOs—because mobile money adoption and SIM penetration are the real drivers of reach. But the broader category of Communications Service Providers (CSPs), which includes fixed-line, broadband, and converged telecom players, also holds potential. As CSPs move into IoT, cloud, and enterprise services, they too can extend financial services in new and powerful ways.

Why Mobile is the Game-Changer

Mobile devices now dominate online payments, enabling consumers to shop, bank, and pay bills from their smartphones. This shift creates a golden opportunity for CSPs to tap new revenue streams through mobile financial services (MFS).

Research by the IBM Institute for Business Value shows nearly two-thirds of enterprise telecom customers want payment solutions from their CSPs. So the opportunity lies not in just improving the lives of the un-banked but it is also an opportunity for enterprise clients. 

Why Collaboration is the Only Way Forward

No single player can deliver inclusive financial services at scale:

• Banks lack the agility to innovate quickly.
• Fintechs lack the infrastructure to scale broadly.
• CSPs lack the regulatory expertise to ensure compliance.

But together—leveraging open APIs, cloud technology, and embedded finance—they can create a seamless, real-time financial ecosystem.

Picture this:

• Banks provide secure backing and regulatory compliance.
• Fintechs design affordable, user-centric products tailored to underserved populations.
• MNOs deliver these products to millions via mobile platforms and agent networks.

The outcome is transformative:

• Farmers access affordable credit through mobile apps, boosting agricultural productivity.
• Informal traders build credit histories via digital wallets, unlocking formal financial opportunities.
• Families secure micro-insurance bundled with mobile subscriptions, gaining protection against unexpected setbacks.

This isn’t just inclusion—it’s empowerment, fostering self-esteem, choice, and sustainability for millions of individuals and businesses.

Broadening the Ecosystem: Governments, On-the-Ground Implementation, and Safeguards

True collaboration for financial inclusion must extend beyond banks, fintechs, and MNOs to include national governments and local stakeholders. Governments play a pivotal role in creating an enabling environment through policies, funding, and regulations. For instance, they can invest in essential infrastructure like broadband networks and digital literacy programs, which are critical for reaching remote areas where mobile coverage alone isn’t sufficient.

On-the-ground implementation requires partnerships with community organisations, local agents, and NGOs to ensure services are culturally relevant and accessible. Infrastructure development—such as expanding reliable electricity, internet connectivity, and secure agent networks—is non-negotiable for scaling mobile financial services effectively.

However, relying on mobile devices introduces risks, particularly if a phone is lost or stolen, potentially exposing sensitive financial data. To mitigate these, operators (including MNOs, banks, and fintechs) must implement robust safeguards:

• Biometric and Multi-Factor Authentication: Use fingerprints, facial recognition, or separate PINs for apps to add layers of security beyond basic passwords.
• Remote Wipe and Lock Features: Enable users to remotely lock or erase data from lost devices via dedicated tools or apps.
• Automatic Logout and Session Management: Ensure sessions end automatically after inactivity, and encourage users to log out after each use.
• Encryption and Data Protection: Encrypt sensitive information stored on devices and in transit to prevent unauthorised access.
• User Education and Reporting Protocols: Provide clear guidelines on reporting lost devices immediately to financial providers, who can then freeze accounts and monitor for fraud.
• Regular Software Updates: Prompt users to keep apps and devices updated to patch vulnerabilities.

By integrating these measures, operators can build trust and minimise risks, making mobile financial services safer for vulnerable populations.

Real-World Examples of Success

Collaboration is already yielding results. In India, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) unites banks, fintechs, and telecoms to enable instant, low-cost mobile payments, reaching millions previously excluded from digital finance. In Kenya, partnerships between Safaricom, banks, and fintechs have made M-Pesa a cornerstone of financial inclusion. These examples prove that shared ecosystems can drive scale and impact.

Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Enhanced Collaboration

No discussion of technology-driven financial inclusion would be complete without addressing Artificial Intelligence (AI). Three-quarters of consumers now demand omnichannel experiences, expecting seamless interactions across mobile apps, call centres, and in-person services. AI-powered solutions can meet these expectations, enhancing customer loyalty and driving market share growth for collaborative ecosystems.

Telecom operators, in particular, have embraced conversational AI, leveraging natural language processing (NLP) to power interactive voice response (IVR) systems, virtual agents, and chatbots. These tools efficiently handle routine customer queries, from balance checks to transaction disputes. Research shows that 97% of operators using virtual agent technology report significant improvements in customer satisfaction. By integrating AI into mobile financial services, banks, fintechs, and MNOs can deliver personalised, responsive support at scale, making financial tools more accessible and user-friendly for underserved populations.

AI also enables advanced analytics for credit scoring, fraud detection, and tailored product recommendations, further strengthening the ecosystem’s ability to serve diverse needs securely and efficiently.

A Call to Action

Some fear collaboration dulls competitive edges, but the financial inclusion market is vast and underserved—there’s room for all to thrive. The value lies not in “owning” the customer but in building ecosystems rooted in trust and accessibility.

To make this vision reality:

• Industry players must prioritise partnerships, leveraging each other’s strengths to co-create scalable solutions.
• Policymakers should incentivise collaboration through interoperability standards and consumer protection frameworks.
• Regulators can foster innovation by streamlining compliance for cross-sector partnerships.

Financial inclusivity is not a battleground; it’s a shared mission. Banks, fintechs, and MNOs each hold critical pieces of the puzzle. Alone, their efforts will fall short. Together, they can build a financial system that is inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

The future of financial services will not be defined by who competes hardest, but by who collaborates smartest.