Digital inclusion: a fundamental right for every individual’s entry into society case study on inclusive service delivery of the banking sector in Belgium

Abstract

Rain slides down the window of a modest student room in Brussels. The day is chilly and bleak. Alex is a student and has to be careful with money for more than one reason. He holds his older-model phone above his ID, which gleams in the pool of light under a desk lamp. On the phone screen, the camera hunts for focus and a message appears, “Hold still.” A rectangle on the screen flickers between green and grey, repeatng the pattern over and over. Today, the camera is no ally; it keeps flashing warnings, demanding a clearer image: “Too blurry. Try again!” Finally, Alex’s persistence pays off! The first level is successfully cleared. Next comes a “liveness check”, with instructions to turn his head to the left, open his eyes wide, move his face closer, then stay still. A leading circle spins, promising a successful connection in a few minutes. But as with the initial step, nothing goes smoothly. The process loops back and eventually delivers a dispiriting verdict: “We were unable to verify your identity.” What now? Alex taps the “Help” icon, and a cheerful chatbot pops up, although its abilities are limited since it only recognises a few keywords. He types a brief description of the issue. The bot responds with a generic suggestion: “Clear your cache.” Alex then follows a link advising him to seek assistance at the nearest branch, only to discover that the branch closed down a few months ago. Another link points to an app that his old phone cannot even install. The path to the simple transaction he needs has now narrowed into a frustrating funnel of polite messages leading nowhere. In the end, the system politely asks, “Have we resolved your problem?” That question only fuels Alex’s anger and disbelief. What should have been a few steps has turned into a thousand-mile journey ending at a brick wall with no way forward.