Businesses around the world are losing an estimated US$1.75 trillion because some 672 million people in the world have either been completely excluded from or find it difficult to access digital services.
This is contained in a report from global full-cycle platform, Sumsub, in commemoration of World Inclusion Day, which falls today.
The report said the 627 million individuals, which is larger than the population of the United States and Brazil combined, are excluded from essential digital services, including financial services, education, healthcare, and employment platforms among others.
The research is part of a new awareness campaign, which introduces the fictional ‘nation’ called Greenflag whose citizens (the 672 million people) are victims of overly risk-averse business compliance practices and limitations of existing verification systems. These fail to account for a range of diverse identities and appearances and stereotype individuals based on their nationality’s rate of fraud.
Sumsub’s latest research, conducted by Catalyst Group, underscores that digital exclusion is both a societal injustice and an economic oversight.
Per the report, beyond the current US$1.75 trillion purchasing power of the 627 million digitally excluded people, digital transactions for these people is expected to reach US$2.46 trillion by 2028, which is a huge untapped opportunity.
The report also stated a number of reasons why these huge number of people remain digitally excluded.
- Identification document issues – 243 million individuals struggle to access services due to non-standard or outdated ID documents.
- Lack of digital literacy – 219 million people are left behind due to insufficient skills to navigate digital platforms. This is due to various factors, including providers neglecting to provide sufficiently accessible support.
- Physical appearance changes – 96 million people face verification challenges due to medical conditions, hair loss, facial injuries, or personal decisions like cosmetic surgery and gender transitions.
- Country of origin – over 70 million people are blocked by risk-based exclusions, with businesses often generalising entire nations as high-risk, unfairly excluding innocent individuals.
CEO and Co-Founder of Sumsub, Andrew Sever, says “Greenflag may be fictional, but the issue it represents – digital exclusion – is very real, with serious implications. As the digital economy grows, these challenges will only intensify.”
“Our mission is to empower a digitally inclusive future, which is why we decided to dig deeper into the problem. However, we couldn’t realise the true scale of it until we saw these distressing results. Addressing digital exclusion is both a moral necessity and a significant economic opportunity for global businesses and governments. More inclusive verification practices can unlock underserved and underrepresented markets and foster global economic growth, while driving social equity.”
