IMF Releases the 2023 Financial Access Survey Results
IMF News, October 3, 2023
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- Published: October 3, 2023
Overview
- The International Monetary Fund released the results of its fourteenth annual Financial Access Survey (FAS).
- Data from 2022 indicate a sustained level of financial inclusion, bolstered by the rise in digital financial services.
- Microfinance institutions played a pivotal role in responding to the financial needs of the most vulnerable segments of society.
- FAS data point to a dip in the outstanding value of commercial bank loans extended to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) relative to GDP, suggesting constrained access to bank financing and/or weakened demand for credit due to tighter financing conditions.
- A persistent gender gap in financial access remains a pressing concern.
Usage of Digital Financial Services
- Traditional touchpoints such as ATMs and bank branches are declining while retail agents and mobile money agents are surging.
- Proliferation of digital financial service access points has led to increased usage, measured by the number and volume of digital financial transactions.
- Regional examples and reported changes:
- Africa: the value of mobile money transactions increased from 26 percent to 35 percent of GDP between 2021 and 2022.
- Europe and Western Hemisphere: the volume of online banking transactions per 1,000 adults jumped by more than 20 percent in 2022 alone.
- Even with increased bank account uptake globally, there has been a drop in the value of outstanding deposits and loans as a share of GDP across many regions.
- Middle East and Central Asia: the share of outstanding loans in GDP fell from 59 in 2021 to 55 percent in 2022.
- Contributing factors to the decline in loan values include the unwinding of COVID-19 policy measures that encouraged bank lending and tighter monetary policy in response to higher inflation.
- Note definitions included in source:
- Mobile money is a digital medium of exchange and store of value using mobile money accounts, facilitated by a network of mobile money agents. A bank account is not required to use mobile services.
- Mobile and internet banking is the use of an application on a mobile or another electronic device to execute banking services.
- Charts referenced show weighted averages by region for countries with data available for 2019-2022; country coverage differs across indicators depending on data availability.
Lending to SMEs
- After an initial spike during early COVID-19, outstanding loan amounts to SMEs as a share of GDP decreased across many economies in 2022.
- Of the 61 economies that have consistently reported SME data over 2019-2022:
- 75 percent or 46 economies reported a decline in outstanding commercial bank loans to SMEs as a share of GDP between 2021 and 2022.
- The decline is partly attributed to the unwinding of support measures such as credit guarantees and moratoriums on debt repayments implemented in 2020.
Gender Gaps in Financial Access
- Account ownership for both men and women saw a slight increase between 2021 and 2022, but significant gaps remain.
- On average, men own 55 percent more deposit accounts than women in the sample and hold significantly higher outstanding value of deposits than women.
- The gender gap widens further when loan account ownership and outstanding value of loans are considered.
- The persistence of the gender gap has macro-critical implications for economic growth, income inequality, and poverty alleviation.
- The source emphasizes the need for more granular gender-disaggregated data to analyze and bridge these disparities effectively.
Data Coverage and Notes
- The FAS is a unique supply-side database on access to and use of financial services, including digital financial services and gender-disaggregated data.
- Coverage and historical scope:
- Covers 191 economies.
- Includes 121 data series and historical data from 2004.
- The 2023 FAS was made possible with the generous support of the Data for Decisions (D4D) Fund.
Press Release No. 23/332 — IMF Communications Department, October 3, 2023