In some regions, over 50% of the population are unbanked and the problem is much worse for women, according to a quarterly review by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which acts as a central authority for the world’s leading central banks.
In a special feature on innovations in payments, included in the review, Morten Linnemann Bech, Head of Secretariat of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures at BIS, and Jenny Hancock, Member of Secretariat at the same Committee, argue that traditional banking services are still yet to reach large swathes of the populations in parts of the Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, with women particularly affected.
The authors write,
“While almost all adults in North America, Europe and other advanced economies have a transaction account, in […] Africa and the Arab world, the share not having an account exceeds 50%. Everywhere, the problem is much worse for women.”
In Sub-Saharan Africa, close to 64% of the female population lacks access to banking services, and the same goes for over 48% of the male population.
In the Middle East and North Africa, just under 64% of females and around 40% of males are unbanked.
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"Financial exclusion is often part of a much wider social exclusion, with individuals also lacking access to education, insurance and healthcare. Payments are the gateway to other financial services, such as savings accounts, credit or insurance, which allow individuals to invest and protect their income against risks. Access to a basic bank account has been shown to reduce poverty, as it promotes saving and supports better financial management," according to the authors.
