{ "title": "IMF Releases the 2023 Financial Access Survey Results", "publication": "IMF News, October 3, 2023", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results/index.md", "summary": "The International Monetary Fund released the results of its fourteenth annual Financial Access Survey (FAS), highlighting the resilience of financial access during the tumultuous COVID-19 pandemic years.", "publishDate": "2023-10-03", "sections": [ { "heading": "Overview", "content": "- The International Monetary Fund released the results of its fourteenth annual Financial Access Survey (FAS).\n- Data from 2022 indicate a sustained level of financial inclusion, bolstered by the rise in digital financial services.\n- Microfinance institutions played a pivotal role in responding to the financial needs of the most vulnerable segments of society.\n- 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.\n- A persistent gender gap in financial access remains a pressing concern." }, { "heading": "Usage of Digital Financial Services", "content": "- Traditional touchpoints such as ATMs and bank branches are declining while retail agents and mobile money agents are surging.\n- Proliferation of digital financial service access points has led to increased usage, measured by the number and volume of digital financial transactions.\n- Regional examples and reported changes:\n - Africa: the value of mobile money transactions increased from 26 percent to 35 percent of GDP between 2021 and 2022.\n - Europe and Western Hemisphere: the volume of online banking transactions per 1,000 adults jumped by more than 20 percent in 2022 alone.\n- 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.\n - Middle East and Central Asia: the share of outstanding loans in GDP fell from 59 in 2021 to 55 percent in 2022.\n- 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.\n- Note definitions included in source:\n - 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.\n - Mobile and internet banking is the use of an application on a mobile or another electronic device to execute banking services.\n - Charts referenced show weighted averages by region for countries with data available for 2019-2022; country coverage differs across indicators depending on data availability." }, { "heading": "Lending to SMEs", "content": "- After an initial spike during early COVID-19, outstanding loan amounts to SMEs as a share of GDP decreased across many economies in 2022.\n- Of the 61 economies that have consistently reported SME data over 2019-2022:\n - 75 percent or 46 economies reported a decline in outstanding commercial bank loans to SMEs as a share of GDP between 2021 and 2022.\n- The decline is partly attributed to the unwinding of support measures such as credit guarantees and moratoriums on debt repayments implemented in 2020." }, { "heading": "Gender Gaps in Financial Access", "content": "- Account ownership for both men and women saw a slight increase between 2021 and 2022, but significant gaps remain.\n- On average, men own 55 percent more deposit accounts than women in the sample and hold significantly higher outstanding value of deposits than women.\n- The gender gap widens further when loan account ownership and outstanding value of loans are considered.\n- The persistence of the gender gap has macro-critical implications for economic growth, income inequality, and poverty alleviation.\n- The source emphasizes the need for more granular gender-disaggregated data to analyze and bridge these disparities effectively." }, { "heading": "Data Coverage and Notes", "content": "- The FAS is a unique supply-side database on access to and use of financial services, including digital financial services and gender-disaggregated data.\n- Coverage and historical scope:\n - Covers 191 economies.\n - Includes 121 data series and historical data from 2004.\n- The 2023 FAS was made possible with the generous support of the Data for Decisions (D4D) Fund.\n\nPress Release No. 23/332 — IMF Communications Department, October 3, 2023\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Press Releases\n- PRESS CENTER\n- Financial Access Survey (FAS)\n- here\n- the Data for Decisions (D4D) Fund\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results/bundle-manifest.json)", "Published: October 3, 2023", "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.", "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:", "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.", "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:", "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:", "The decline is partly attributed to the unwinding of support measures such as credit guarantees and moratoriums on debt repayments implemented in 2020.", "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.", "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:", "The 2023 FAS was made possible with the generous support of the Data for Decisions (D4D) Fund.", "[Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[Financial Access Survey (FAS)](http://data.imf.org/FAS)", "[here](https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.STA:FAS)", "[the Data for Decisions (D4D) Fund](https://www.imf.org/en/Capacity-Development/D4D/fund)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2023/10/03/pr23332-imf-releases-the-2023-financial-access-survey-results/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-26T02:22:56.929Z" }