11th International Conference on ICTIS

Authors - Tanvir Ahmed Fahim, Md. Sohel Rana, Shamsul Arefin Bipul, Tanvir Hasan, Niyaz Mahmud MD. Mujahid, Hridoy Datta
Abstract - The rapid expansion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has transformed financial inclusion from a policy objective centered on access into a data-driven process mediated by digital identity systems, algorithmic credit assessment, and fintech platforms. While ICT-enabled financial inclusion promises efficiency, scalability, and outreach to marginalized populations, it simultaneously raises profound concerns relating to personality rights, including identity, dignity, autonomy, privacy, and reputation. This paper advances a normative and conceptual analysis of Personality Rights–Based Financial Inclusion through ICT, arguing that contemporary financial systems increasingly construct a digital economic identity that determines an individual’s financial opportunities and exclusions. Such identities, often generated through opaque algorithms and data profiling, risk reducing individuals to abstract data points, thereby undermining human dignity and meaningful self-determination. The paper develops a conceptual framework that positions ICT as the mediating layer between individuals and financial inclusion outcomes, with personality rights functioning as essential normative safeguards. Central to this framework is the articulation of the Right to Economic Self-Representation, which recognizes the individual’s entitlement to access, understand, contest, and contextualize their digital financial profile. By reframing financial inclusion as a rights-dependent process rather than a purely technological or developmental intervention, the paper highlights the dangers of algorithmic exclusion, permanent economic stigmatization, and surveillance-based inclusion. The study contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship at the intersection of ICT law, financial regulation, and human rights by proposing a rights-compatible model of inclusive finance. It argues that embedding personality rights into the design and governance of financial technologies is crucial to ensuring that financial inclusion operates as a mechanism of empowerment rather than control. The paper concludes that sustainable and legitimate digital financial inclusion must balance technological innovation with the preservation of human dignity and agency.