Universal Health Coverage (UHC) remains a core Sustainable Development Goal challenge for Arab nations, with structural inequalities and conflict ongoing in threatening equal access to health. Although literature concurs on the presence of a relationship between UHC and financial inclusion, contextual mechanisms underpinning this relationship remain poorly understood. This study offers an integrated Explainable AI (XAI)–Econometric methodology to unveil how financial inclusion—through digital as well as physical channels for services—drives UHC progress in 17 Arab nations (2011–2022)