We tend to associate digitalization with convenience. If a branch is far away, there is a mobile app. If standing in a queue is inconvenient, the transaction can be completed online. Yet what simplifies life for most people may become a new barrier for others.
Zerkalo Sociologic Servis, a member of Zerkalo Analytics Group, has signed a contract with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to conduct a diagnostic assessment of financial accessibility for remittance recipients and returnees with disabilities in Uzbekistan. The assignment is linked to IFAD’s cooperation with the Central Bank of Uzbekistan to improve financial access.
The study will cover both physical and remote access channels: bank branches, ATMs, agents, mobile applications, internet banking platforms and electronic wallets. The key question is not simply whether a service exists, but whether a person can independently complete the entire customer journey: receive a remittance, make a payment, save money or access a credit product.
At first glance, the issue may appear technical: button size, navigation, ATM height or an accessible entrance. In practice, much more is at stake — whether a person can manage their own money without constant assistance from relatives, staff or intermediaries.
But it is not only the subject of the study that is unconventional — the approach is unusual as well. The assignment is expected to apply tools more commonly used in commercial research, including customer journey analysis, user experience research and, for the assessment of physical service points, selected elements of mystery shopping. The involvement of persons with disabilities in field accessibility audits is also being considered, so that the study captures real rather than assumed barriers.
Studies that connect physical and digital accessibility with actual user experience remain relatively rare. This is why Zerkalo Sociologic Servis is bringing together a multidisciplinary team with expertise in sociological research, financial and digital services, user experience, disability inclusion, legal and regulatory analysis, and field diagnostics.
The team’s task is not simply to list problems. It is to trace the full customer journey, compare it with the policies and practices of financial institutions, and translate identified barriers into actionable recommendations for financial institutions, the regulator and other stakeholders.The project’s central objective is to make accessibility not merely a formal requirement, but a verifiable characteristic of a financial service.
