The Lived Experience of Financial Inclusion 3.0: Interpreting the Financial Connectedness of Urban Communities in Makassar

Abstract

The rapid evolution towards digital financial services, termed "Financial Inclusion 3.0," necessitates a deeper understanding of its human impact beyond quantitative access metrics. This study aims to explore the lived experiences and subjective meanings of financial connectedness among urban society in Makassar, Indonesia. Utilizing a qualitative methodology with an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with 18 active users of digital financial services. The findings reveal that financial connectedness is a complex phenomenon driven by structural necessity, manifesting as a layered use of digital tools. A core finding is the profound ambivalence experienced by users, who report enhanced agency and control alongside significant anxiety over security and the intangible nature of digital money. These contradictions crystallize into critical paradoxes: the efficiency-vulnerability paradox, where financial convenience creates new risks of over-indebtedness, and the inclusion-exclusion paradox, where digital progress marginalizes less technologically adept groups. The study concludes that Financial Inclusion 3.0 is a double-edged phenomenon. A key practical implication is the urgent need for policymakers and financial institutions to shift focus beyond expanding access towards designing ecosystems that actively build trust, ensure consumer protection, promote digital literacy, and foster genuine financial well-being, thereby navigating the inherent paradoxes of the digital financial age