The Foundations of Financial Inclusion : Understanding Ownership and Use of Formal Accounts

Allen, Franklin ; Demirguc-Kunt, Asli ; Klapper, Leora ; Peria, Maria Soledad Martinez

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: BARRIERS TO ACCOUNT OWNERSHIP;    FINANCIAL INCLUSION;    POOR PEOPLE;    RURAL RESIDENTS;    WELFARE BENEFITS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6290
RP-ID  :  WPS6290

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Financial inclusion -- defined here asthe use of formal accounts -- can bring many welfarebenefits to individuals. Yet we know very little about thefactors underpinning financial inclusion across individualsand countries. Using data for 123 countries and over 124,000individuals, this paper tries to understand the individualand country characteristics associated with the use offormal accounts and what policies are effective among thosemost likely to be excluded: the poor and rural residents.The authors find that greater ownership and use of accountsis associated with a better enabling environment foraccessing financial services, such as lower account costsand greater proximity to financial intermediaries. Policiestargeted to promote inclusion -- such as requiring banks tooffer basic or low-fee accounts, exempting some depositorsfrom onerous documentation requirements, allowingcorrespondent banking, and using bank accounts to makegovernment payments -- are especially effective among thosemost likely to be excluded. Finally, the authors study thefactors associated with perceived barriers to accountownership among those who are financially excluded and findthat these individuals report lower barriers in countrieswith lower costs of accounts and greater penetration offinancial service providers. Overall, the results suggestthat policies to reduce barriers to financial inclusion mayexpand the pool of eligible account users and encourageexisting account holders to use their accounts to save andwith greater frequency.