FINTECH DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION: SOUTH KOREAN LESSONS FOR UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

Financial technology has become a major mechanism through which financial systems can reduce transaction costs, expand access to formal services, improve customer experience, and generate new data for financial decision-making. Yet the expansion of fintech does not automatically produce inclusive development. Digital exclusion, weak consumer protection, cybersecurity risks, market concentration, limited financial literacy, and unequal access to reliable connectivity can restrict its benefits. This article examines the relationship between fintech development and financial inclusion through a comparative analysis of the Republic of Korea and Uzbekistan. South Korea is considered as an advanced digital economy whose experience demonstrates both the opportunities and regulatory challenges created by financial digitalization, while Uzbekistan is analysed as a rapidly reforming economy with expanding digital financial infrastructure and substantial remaining inclusion gaps. The study applies comparative, institutional, systems, and structural-functional methods. It argues that Uzbekistan should prioritize interoperable and affordable payment systems, responsible digital credit, consumer protection, data governance, regulatory experimentation, cybersecurity, digital financial literacy, and SME-oriented fintech. A phased adaptation framework is proposed to convert technological expansion into measurable improvements in access, usage, quality, and resilience of financial services.