AI and… Financial Inclusion

AI is no longer a future-facing conversation when it comes to money. It’s here, it’s being used across our financial apps, institutions and information sources, and it’s shaping how people make decisions every single day. Lloyds’ latest Consumer Digital Index puts a number on something many of us have felt creeping in for a while: almost 29 million adults in the UK have used an AI tool in the past year to help manage their finances. That’s more than half the adult population using tech to budget, plan, and make sense of their financial lives.

And honestly, I’m not surprised. (Because… I use it to do that too!) When you’re trying to juggle rising costs, unpredictable incomes, spending patterns that don’t neatly fit a spreadsheet, or the extra costs that come with disability, having a tool that breaks information down quickly can feel like a lifeline. People using AI say they’re saving an average of just under £400 a year, simply from having better insights. I use Chat GPT to break down the income Moleworks Solutions receives every month into each ‘pot’ I need to allocate money into- tax, salaries, pension, operations, travel, software… it saves me a little time each month but that adds up!

But the picture isn’t all rosy. The same research shows that people are worried. They’re uneasy about inaccurate information, about whether the advice is actually meant for them, and about handing over their data with no real visibility of what happens next. Those concerns are justified. AI tools often feel like they’re built for the mythical “average user” ( if you’ve followed my work for long enough, you’ll know how much phrases like ‘average user’ and ‘normal person’ annoy me!) and if you fall outside that mould because you’re disabled, your income varies, you’re caring for someone, you’re older, or you’re digitally excluded, the advice can become irrelevant at best, and harmful at worst.

In financial inclusion, we talk a lot about access to banking, credit, insurance, and support, but in our digital age, it’s also key to recognise that we now also need to be talking about digital inclusion. You can’t separate the two anymore. If AI is becoming a standard part of money management, then the way these tools are designed will shape who gets left out.

There’s real potential here. I am a true believer in the potential of AI as an equaliser for disabled people, and access to financial services. AI could help people who haven’t had access to personalised advice. It could support disabled people who face higher living costs and need approaches that actually reflect their reality. It could make it easier for people to understand what’s going on with their finances without needing a degree in economics. And it could help close some of the gaps the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy is trying to address, especially around confidence and capability.

AI doesn’t sleep, it isn’t constrained to 9-5pm, it doesn’t require you to take multiple buses and navigate streets to a branch that if it’s even open, may not be able to provide the hearing loop needed to listen well, or have someone on hand who has the time and understanding to explain something that can feel emotionally charged and complex. AI doesn’t judge you (at least, not outwardly, where you feel like you’re divulging secrets or feel shame- AI certainly involves a huge amount of bias in built.)

So we’re seeing people turn to it as an easy, accessible, beginner friendly, non -judgemental tool to financial literacy. To see an increase in confidence and capability though, will only happen if the design is intentional. If a budgeting tool doesn’t work with assistive tech, it’s not inclusive. If it can’t interpret irregular income or disability-related spending, it’s not useful. If it assumes everyone has the same devices, the same connection, or the same digital skills, it’s replicating the same exclusions we already see in the financial system. And if there’s no clear way to move from an AI conversation to a human one, then it’s not good enough for people whose situations are complex.

What I’d like to see is much more scrutiny of what’s under the hood. How diverse are the datasets? Are disabled people involved in testing? Do these tools actually reflect the lives of people who’ve been historically excluded from financial stability? Do they make things easier or add another barrier?

The truth is, AI could move the dial on financial inclusion. But it won’t do that passively. It needs inclusive design, accessible interfaces, human-centred thinking, and accountability baked in from the start. And it needs banks, fintechs, government, regulators and disabled people themselves working together, not replicating the old “design it first, include people later” problem.

I’m hopeful, but only because the conversation is shifting. We’re starting to see financial services connect AI, accessibility, and inclusion rather than treating them as separate issues and I look forward to seeing where this conversation goes in the next few months, let alone the next few years. Even within the slow-paced world of financial regulation and adoption of new technology, we’re seeing this conversation move at a rapid pace.