Measuring Financial Access: 10 Years of the IMF Financial Access Survey
Departmental Papers, May 12, 2020
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- Measuring Financial Access: 10 Years of the IMF Financial Access Survey
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Marco A Espinosa-Vega, Kazuko Shirono, Hector Carcel Villanova, Bidisha Das, Yingjie Fan
- Published: May 12, 2020
- Series: Departmental Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513538853.087
Retrospective and purpose
- Marks the 10th anniversary of the IMF Financial Access Survey (FAS).
- Offers a retrospective of the FAS database and reflections on its future directions.
- Since its 2009 launch, the FAS has provided granular data on access to and use of financial services.
- The FAS is a supply-side database with annual global coverage based on data sourced directly from financial service providers.
- Aimed at supporting policymakers to target and evaluate financial inclusion policies.
Key features of the FAS
- Provides granular, supply-side indicators on access to and use of financial services.
- Annual global coverage spanning countries since the 2009 launch.
- Data collection has kept pace with financial innovation, including the rise of mobile money.
- Growing demand for gender-disaggregated data has been incorporated into FAS data collection.
Implications for policymakers and the FAS agenda
- FAS data are intended to support policymakers in targeting and evaluating financial inclusion policies.
- The FAS must continue to evolve to reflect ongoing financial innovation and changing data needs, including:
- Monitoring mobile banking and mobile internet developments.
- Expanding and responding to demand for gender-disaggregated indicators.
- Continuing to source data directly from financial service providers to maintain supply-side accuracy.
This summary is based on the departmental paper "Measuring Financial Access: 10 Years of the IMF Financial Access Survey" (May 12, 2020).