a l 70079 a n c i i n F ess 2 0 0 9 A c c Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World Copyright 2009 by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor/The World Bank MSN P 3-300, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington DC 20433 USA All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing September 2009 This volume is a product of the staff of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), and the judg- ments herein do not necessarily reflect the views of CGAP’s Council of Governors or Executive Committee or the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. CGAP and the World Bank do not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and ac- cept no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. 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If you have questions or comments about this product, please contact: CGAP MSN P 3-300 The World Bank Group 1818 H Street, NW Washington DC 20433 USA Phone: 202-473-9594 Fax: 202-522-3744 E-mail: cgap@worldbank.org Web: www.cgap.org/financialindicators Table of contents Acknowledgments    ix Overview    1 1  Measuring financial access What data are available from regulators?    6 Improving data collection for measuring access    9 Notes    10 2  Savings and payments Measuring access to deposit services    11 Policies to promote deposit account ownership    18 Notes    23 3  Credit Measuring access to credit    25 Policies to support access to credit     29 Notes    36 4  Delivering financial services Measuring outreach    37 Policies to improve banking outreach    40 Notes     48 Methodology    49  iii Figures 1 Developing countries have a third the deposits per person of developed countries    2 2 Developing countries have a quarter of the loans per person of developed countries    3 3 Developing countries have narrower outreach    4 1.1 The main financial regulator supervises nonbank financial institutions in half the countries surveyed    7 1.2 Data are limited on the number of deposits and loans, especially for nonbanks    7 1.3 For cooperatives, few countries provide data on access    8 1.4 In almost half of countries specialized state financial institutions are regulated by the main bank regulator    9 1.5 In more than 40 percent of countries microfinance institutions are regulated by the main bank regulator    9 2.1 The majority of deposit accounts are in commercial banks, but nonbanks play a significant role as well    13 2.2 Countries with higher poverty rates have the lowest account penetration    14 2.3 In countries with higher incomes and greater availability of deposit services, average deposit size is smaller relative to average income    14 2.4 Average account size relative to income in nonbank institutions is lower than in commercial banks    15 2.5 Nonbank institutions—important in delivering deposit services    16 2.6 Income, deposit insurance, and population density correlate with deposit account penetration 17 2.7 Information requested as part of “know your customer” requirements    19 2.8 Only 20 countries promote basic accounts    20 2.9 Forty countries offer government-to-person payments through bank accounts    21 2.10 Availability of retail payment system and prevalence of government-to-person payments    22 2.11 Promoting savings schemes    23 3.1 Change in perceptions of access to credit is not correlated with a change in use of credit    26 3.2 In higher income countries loans to individuals account for a greater share of the total volume    27 3.3 Loan sizes are large relative to income in poorer countries, where there are few borrowers    28 3.4 Cooperatives, specialized state financial institutions, and microfinance institutions are an important source of credit in many countries    29 3.5 Loan sizes in cooperatives, some specialized state financial institutions, and microfinance institutions are smaller than in commercial banks    30 3.6 Countries with more comprehensive credit information systems have more bank loans to individuals 31 3.7 Private credit bureaus cover a broad range of regulated and unregulated credit providers    32 3.8 More countries use disclosure and not usury ceilings as the main consumer protection    32 3.9 The share of countries with requirements to disclose loan rates ranges from 50 percent in South Asia to 91 percent in high-income countries    33 3.10 Requirements to disclose effective interest rates are widespread    33 3.11 Interest rates are lower in countries with more competitive and less concentrated financial markets, but there is no relation to usury ceilings    35 4.1 Having more “touch points” is correlated with a greater deposit and loan penetration    38 4.2 There are fewer rural branches per rural resident in developing countries than in developed countries    39 iv Financial Access 2009 4.3 As branch networks expand, more rural branches open, and the ratio of rural branches to population catches up with urban branches    39 4.4 Cooperatives, specialized state financial institutions, and microfinance institutions are widespread in rural areas    40 4.5 Better infrastructure and less corruption are associated with greater branch penetration    41 4.6 Countries requiring branch approval are also more likely to have additional restrictions on branch operations    42 4.7 Exceptions to the security requirements are not widespread    42 4.8 Requirements for branch approvals are associated with lower branch penetration    43 4.9 Africa and the Middle East have the most restrictive regulations for agent banking    44 4.10 Many countries permit only payment services by agents    44 4.11 What can agents do?    45 4.12 Customer acquisition is a key constraint for agents to improve financial inclusion    45 4.13 Credit approval by agents is widely restricted    46 4.14 Who provides financial services through the postal system?    46 4.15 Participation of private sector in provision of financial services through posts increases with income 47 4.16 Operation of private financial institutions through the postal system is associated with higher deposit penetration    47 Maps 2.1 Number of deposit accounts in banks and regulated nonbank financial institutions per 1,000 adults 12 3.1 The number of bank loans per 1,000 adults is correlated with economic development    27 4.1 Africa and South Asia have fewer than 10 bank branches per 100,000 adults    38 Tables Statistical tables S1 Financial access: commercial banks     54 S2 Financial access: cooperatives     57 S3 Financial access: specialized state financial institutions     59 S4 Financial access: microfinance institutions     61 Policy tables P1 Documentation required to open an account     62 P2 Policies to promote savings    65 P3 Transparency and consumer protection    68 P4 Branch banking regulations     71 P5 Using existing retail networks to provide financial services     74 References    77 Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World v Acknowledgments Financial Access 2009 was made possible by the generous contribution of time, perspective, and assistance by central bank officials in 139 countries who responded to the Financial Access Survey. The report was prepared by the team led by Nataliya Mylenko under the general direction of Elizabeth L. Littlefield and Penelope J. Brook. The team comprised Amrote Abdella, Hédia Arbi, Maximilien Heimann, Yehia Houry, Jake Kendall, Maria Mendez Cintron, Joana Pascual, Alejandro Ponce-Rodríguez, Valentina Saltane, and Anju Somani. The report benefited from the review and comments by a panel of ex- perts, including Thorsten Beck, Juan Buchenau, Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, Hendrik Denker, Susanne Dorasil, Michael J. Fuchs, Maria Soledad Martinez Peria, Ignacio Mas, Kate McKee, Douglas Pearce, Mark Pickens, Rita Ramalho, Bikki Randhawa, Roberto R. Rocha, Richard Rosenberg, Peer Stein, Michael Tarazi, Jeanette Thomas, and Glenn Westley. Jonathan Morduch and David Porteous commented on the survey design. Simone di Castri, Denise Dias, Christoph Kneiding, Timothy Lyman, and Jim Rosenberg provided valuable comments. World Bank regional staff assisted in the data collection process and provided valuable guidance in the drafting of the report. Anna Nunan managed the publication process.  vii Overview Financial inclusion—providing ac- policymakers, researchers, practi- cess to financial services for all— tioners, and multilateral and bi- has gained prominence in the past lateral investors. few years as a policy objective for national policymakers, multilateral Measuring access— institutions, and others in the de- getting more and better velopment field. The United Na- data on regulated tions designated 2005 the In- financial institutions is a ternational Year of Microcredit, first major step adopting the goal of building in- clusive financial systems.1 To as- To guide monetary policy and sist policymakers in designing ef- monitor systemic risks, financial fective policies and tracking global regulators in all countries collect progress in financial inclusion, the information on the values of de- World Bank collected the first set posits and credit. But the Finan- of indicators of financial access cial Access Survey indicates that in countries around the world in fewer than 70 percent of coun- 20052 and updated these indicators tries collect information on the for selected countries in 2008.3 number of bank deposit accounts. And even fewer countries have in- Building on this work, Financial formation on regulated nonbank Access 2009 introduces new data institutions—only 30 percent of from a survey of financial regula- countries could provide informa- tors in 139 countries. It presents tion on the number of deposit ac- indicators of access to savings, counts in cooperatives, specialized credit, and payment services in state financial institutions, and banks and in regulated nonbank microfinance institutions. Data financial institutions—­reviewing on the number of loans are even some policy initiatives that sup- more limited. port financial inclusion. As the first in an annual series docu- Policymakers need reliable in- menting access to financial ser- formation on access to financial vices around the world, it is in- services to design effective poli- tended for a broad audience of cies, set priorities for actions, and  1 monitor progress. The first step is relation to average income. Lower they address a binding constraint, to start regularly collecting a set income clients are served mainly be it cost or distance. Basic bank- of standardized indicators for all by nonbank financial institutions, ing aims to reduce the cost of us- regulated financial institutions including cooperatives, specialized ing savings accounts, but it has in a country. These indicators in- state financial institutions, and little effect if a bank branch is clude the number of deposit ac- deposit­-taking microfinance insti- too far away and no other access counts and loans, the number of tutions, where average deposits are point is available nearby. Trans- deposit clients and borrowers, and smaller. Banks remain the main ferring government payments to the number of financial access holder of deposits worldwide, but deposit accounts can significantly points, such as branches, agents, in some countries nonbank deposit reduce the costs of delivering gov- and automated teller machines. service providers hold more depos- ernment transfers and increase ac- its than banks and serve a broader cess to deposit services. But such Regulators can facilitate data col- segment of the market. transfers require a developed retail lection by setting clear guidelines payment system and carefully de- for reporting key access data and Financial inclusion policies—such signed deposit service products to weighing the benefits of better as offering basic accounts, trans- improve access. To be effective, fi- data with the costs of compliance. ferring government payments to nancial inclusion policies should Similar to the approach for mon- individual accounts, and encour- be comprehensive, addressing the itoring systemic risks, a focus on aging saving through matched main barriers to financial inclu- larger institutions is justified, es- and tax-advantaged savings ac- sion that individuals face. pecially among nonbank financial counts—are concentrated in institutions, which often lack nec- high-income countries, far from Increasing access to essary systems to report the data. widespread. When implemented credit—consumer Where different regulators super- in developing countries, they usu- protection is key vise various types of financial in- ally work only if participating fi- stitutions, better coordination is nancial institutions see them as a Large-scale bank lending to in- needed to gather the data on access viable business proposition and if dividuals, small enterprises, and in the entire regulated system. Increasing access to Developing countries have a third the deposits Figure 1 per person of developed countries saving and payment services—policies successful only if Number of 1.77 bank deposits financial institutions are per adult 0.52 on board 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Estimates in this report indicate Value of 76 bank deposits that there are as many bank de- (percent of GDP) 42 posit accounts as people in the Developed countries world today. But these accounts are Average Developing countries bank deposit 44 concentrated in developed econo- (percent of GDP 120 mies (figure 1). In poor countries per capita) few lower income people use bank 0 30 60 90 120 deposit accounts, reflected in the higher average account balances in Source: Financial Access database. 2 Financial Access 2009 microenterprises is fairly new, official income records. By gener- in consumer credit, seem to have Overview even in developed countries. Un- ating information that helps lend- limited effect but require further regulated lenders and regulated ers assess risk and allocate credit analysis. nonbank financial institutions re- more efficiently, comprehensive main a major credit provider in credit registries contribute to the Extending the reach of many countries, though the lack development of credit markets. financial services— of data makes precise estimates As more people enter the finan- new technologies difficult. Based on available bank cial system and credit products and simplified branch data, there are nearly four times become more complex, rules and regulations hold more loans per adult in devel- regulations to protect consumers promise oped countries than in develop- and overcome information and ing countries (figure 2). As with power imbalances need to be put Bringing financial services to ru- deposit services, banks cater to in place. ral clients is the biggest challenge richer clients, reflected in higher in the quest for broad-based fi- ratios of average loan size to av- This report reviews three inter- nancial inclusion (figure 3). Of- erage income. Regulated non- ventions: disclosure requirements, ten the main barrier to finan- bank financial institutions cater interest rate caps, and methods to cial inclusion in rural areas is the to poorer clients than banks and address excessive lending that can great distances that rural resi- provide smaller loans. In some result in consumer overindebted- dents must travel to reach a bank countries nonbank financial insti- ness. Improved transparency and branch. Poor infrastructure and tutions evolve into dominant reg- disclosure allow borrowers to telecommunications, and heavy ulated credit providers. make informed choices and can branch regulation, also restrict facilitate competition in finan- the geographical expansion of Lending to individuals and small cial markets, eventually leading to bank branch networks. In many entrepreneurs requires processing lower prices and improved prod- developing countries there are many small loans to people who ucts. Policies to restrict interest fewer bank branches per rural generally lack a credit history or rates or credit quantity, especially resident than per urban resident. Nonbank financial institutions help fill this gap, with half the Developing countries have a quarter of the Figure 2 countries reporting more non- loans per person of developed countries bank branches per rural resident than bank branches. Number of bank loans 0.82 to individuals 0.22 Better geographic outreach can per adult remove distance as a barrier to 0.0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 financial access for both lend- Value of 37 ers and borrowers, perhaps al- bank loans to individuals 13 lowing banks to be more respon- (percent of GDP) Developed countries sive and less intimidating to their Average bank loan Developing countries customers. to individuals 53 (percent of GDP 128 per capita) Simplifying the branch approval 0 30 60 90 120 150 process can facilitate geographi- cal expansion of branches. But Source: Financial Access database. the cost of building physical Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 3 Figure 3 Developing countries have narrower outreach Point-of-sale 2,088 terminals per 100,000 adults 170 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 Automated teller 78 machines per 100,000 adults 23 Branches per 24 Developed countries 100,000 adults 8 Developing countries 0 20 40 60 80 100 Source: Financial Access database. infrastructure or the combination improving access to financial ser- of low income and low population vices, especially in poor and re- density may make some areas un- mote areas. profitable as branch locations. Al- lowing banks to operate through Notes agents, including partnerships with postal networks and retail- 1. UNCDF 2006. ers, reduces the fixed costs asso- 2. Beck, Demirgüç-Kunt, and ciated with geographical expan- Martinez Peria 2007. sion and holds great promise for 3. World Bank 2008a. 4 Financial Access 2009 1 Measuring financial access To design effective policies and for access.1 This report uses access track progress policymakers need and use interchangeably. to measure financial access. While a growing number of countries What are the best indicators of fi- collect data on the availability and nancial access? In a perfect world use of financial services, there is they would be the numbers of no consistent set of global finan- people, households, and firms sav- cial access indicators to allow com- ing, receiving credit, making pay- parison across countries and over ments, and using other financial time. Building on earlier work by products from various sources, the World Bank, this report pres- both formal and informal. These ents the most recent and compre- indicators would allow a break- hensive set of global financial ac- down by income, firm size, and cess indicators collected through a location. And if they were col- regulator survey in 139 countries. lected regularly using a consistent The first in an annual series, it dis- methodology, they could be com- cusses the challenges in collecting pared across countries and time. comprehensive global indicators But such global indicators do not and describes the access to finan- exist today. cial services in countries around the world. For several countries some ac- cess indicators are available from A basic challenge in measuring fi- country­-level household and en- nancial access is differentiating terprise surveys. These surveys between the access to and use of fi- provide a wealth of information on nancial services. Individuals may household and firm behavior and choose not to open a bank account are indispensible for setting and or to borrow even if these services evaluating policies for improving are available, reducing use relative access to finance at a national or to access. Such voluntary exclusion subnational level. Indeed, a grow- is difficult to measure, however, ing number of countries imple- because it is not directly observ- ment national household surveys able. So, researchers rely on indi- that now include questions about cators of use as an approximation financial access.  5 But it is difficult or impossible quarterly by the regulator using a Overall, however, using household to compare survey results across consistent methodology and can surveys in combination with regu- countries because of differences in be cross-checked with other da- latory data can improve data con- questions and methods.2 There are tabases available to the regulator, sistency and quality. By system- other limitations as well. Most na- such as credit registries. Second, atically collecting regulatory data tional surveys are not conducted it is not subject to potential sam- using a consistent methodology, regularly and may not be compa- pling biases, because data collec- regulators can routinely monitor rable from year to year, because tion through standard reporting developments in financial access. questions and household samples covers the entire regulated fi- Harmonizing the methodology change over time. Household sur- nancial system. Third, regulators for key financial access indicators veys are costly, often requiring gather data on actual financial would also allow for a more pre- interviewers to travel across the obligations, reducing potential cise international comparison and country to collect the data. They inaccuracies related to mistakes analysis. can take a year or more to im- and omissions by survey respon- plement. And there are concerns dents. Fourth, the cost of collect- about sampling and the represen- ing such data is relatively small tativeness of results, especially in because it leverages existing data What data are large countries. collection processes. The basic fi- nancial access indicators are fairly available from An alternative is to collect infor- easy to compute and report for regulators? mation on the use of financial ser- institutions using standard infor- vices through regular reporting by mation systems. Modern financial systems are financial institutions to the finan- complex, featuring great variety in cial regulator, so-called supply- But supply-side data have limita- regulated and unregulated finan- side data. Many financial regu- tions. They cover only the regu- cial service providers. Few coun- lators collect information on the lated financial system, excluding tries have a single central super- number of deposit accounts and informal financial services, which visor or coordinating entity for the number of loans. Closely cor- can have a larger number of cli- all financial institutions. But the related with the data from house- ents, especially in low-income main financial authority, usually a hold surveys,3 such data can be countries. In addition, the num- central bank or bank supervisory a good basis for indicators of ac- ber of accounts in the financial agency, regulates nonbank finan- cess to financial services. Indeed, system often overstates the num- cial institutions along with banks a growing number of countries ber of account holders by a fac- in about half the world’s countries collect these data regularly as part tor of two or more due to multiple (figure 1.1). The Financial Access of standard reporting. This is the accounts. Even in countries that Survey collected information on approach used in this and earlier count the number of depositors a broad range of regulated finan- World Bank reports.4 and borrowers, it is usually impos- cial institutions in 139 countries sible to avoid double-­counting in- through a questionnaire to the There are several advantages to dividuals with accounts and loans main financial regulator, such as a using data collected by regula- in multiple institutions5 or count- central bank or a bank supervisory tors as a basis for global finan- ing a large number of dormant ac- agency. When possible, the main cial access indicators. First, the counts. Moreover, many regula- financial supervisor also provided approach helps ensure data con- tors do not collect financial access the data on regulated nonbank fi- sistency over time because the data, or do so only on an ad hoc nancial institutions supervised by data are collected monthly or basis. other agencies in the country. 6 Financial Access 2009 There are often many types of organizations, specialized state fi- Commercial banks regulated financial institutions nancial institutions, and micro- in a country. To facilitate inter- finance institutions. It collected The Financial Access Survey indi- national comparison, the survey information on selected financial cates that the data on use of finan- asked regulators to provide data inclusion policies and statistics on cial services are not always avail- grouped in four broad types of regulated institutions: banks (in- cluding state-owned banks), coop- the number of deposit and loan accounts, the number of deposi- tors and borrowers, and the value able, even for banks, and much less for regulated nonbank finan- cial institutions. Data on values 1 Measuring financial access eratives and other member-owned of deposits and loans (figure 1.2).6 of loans and deposits in commer- cial banks are the most compre- hensive, available for more than Figure 1.1 The main financial regulator supervises nonbank 90 percent of countries (see fig- financial institutions in half the countries surveyed ure 1.2). This information, part of standard reporting, collected from Commercial bank balance sheets, is used to 100.0 banks monitor systemic risks and guide monetary policy—the core objec- Cooperatives 57.7 tive of a central bank. Information on the number of deposits is col- Specialized state nancial institutions 48.1 lected in only 64 percent of coun- tries, and that on loans in only Micro nance 43.8 50 percent. Developing countries institutions collect these data more often than 0 20 40 60 80 100 developed countries do.7 Share of reporting countries (percent) The best indicator for measuring Source: Financial Access database. access to financial services is the number of depositors and borrow- ers. But only about 20 percent of Figure 1.2 Data are limited on the number of deposits countries surveyed have data on and loans, especially for nonbanks the number of depositors or the Number of countries number of borrowers. Even when 150 Supervision of institutional type Data on number of collected, the data for the total Data on value of deposits individual depositors Data on number of deposit accounts Data on number of number of depositors double- 120 Data on value of loans individual borrowers ­ counts those with accounts in Data on number of loans multiple banks. For credit the 90 double-­ counting can be solved by extracting data from credit regis- 60 tries, where available. Credit reg- istries that merge information at 30 the loan level to provide the con- solidated debt for each borrower 0 Commercial banks Cooperatives Specialized state Micro nance can provide the total number of nancial institutions institutions unique borrowers and their re- Source: Financial Access database. spective debt. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 7 Cooperatives can provide data on financial ac- Specialized state cess (see figure 1.2). Where they financial institutions Financial cooperatives, an impor- are supervised by the main finan- tant provider of financial services cial regulator, fewer than 60 per- Specialized state financial insti- around the world, are regulated cent have data on the values of de- tutions operate in more than 60 by a financial regulator in only posits and loans, and just a third percent of the countries surveyed half the countries surveyed (figure on the number of accounts and and  range  from  non-deposit- 1.3). In the other half they are ei- loans. The significant difference taking wholesale lending facilities ­ ther not regulated (25 percent) or in data availability by region re- to non­ lending postal banks. In are regulated by other ministries flects varying levels of sophistica- 48 percent of these countries the (17 percent), such as ministries of tion among cooperatives. Latin main bank regulator supervises cooperatives. These ministries su- America has the best data cover- specialized state financial institu- pervise all types of cooperatives, age, with 80 percent of countries tions (figure 1.4). In 14 percent and few have the capacity to su- collecting data on values and 60 these institutions are supervised pervise all of them. In developed percent on numbers of loans and by other government agencies, countries financial cooperatives deposits. In Sub-Saharan Africa such as ministries of finance for evolved into mainstream finan- only 3 of 15 countries where the development banks and ministries cial institutions, and regulators financial authority regulates co- of post and communications for seldom differentiate between the operatives had data on numbers postal banks. Even though spe- supervision of cooperatives and of deposits and loans. Many coop- cialized state financial institutions banks. In 76 percent of high- eratives are small, some struggle are an important provider of ser- ­ income countries the bank regu- with basic accounting, and few vices, very few countries can pro- lator also supervises cooperatives, have a management information vide data on the outreach of these compared with 53 percent in de- system. It may not be possible to institutions (see figure 1.2). veloping countries. collect comprehensive data on all cooperatives, but many large co- Microfinance institutions Even where financial coopera- operatives in most countries can tives are regulated, few countries provide data. A specific challenge in measuring microfinance is that it is defined not by the type of institution but Figure 1.3 For cooperatives, few countries provide data on access by the market segment served. For example, many cooperatives op- erate in rural and poor areas and Not regulated Regulated by a provide microfinance services. 25% bank regulator only In some countries banks enter the space traditionally served by 42% microfinance, such as ICICI in India, Equity Bank in Kenya, and 17% BRI in Indonesia. Regulated by other regulator only 16% In 57 countries microfinance in- stitutions, usually deposit-taking, Regulated by botha are defined for regulation pur- Note: Data are for 130 countries. a. Multiple types of cooperatives exist, some regulated by different regulatory bodies. poses as a separate institutional Source: Financial Access database. type and regulated by the main 8 Financial Access 2009 financial authority (figure 1.5). banks supervise microfinance in- institutions than for other regu- In at least 10 countries multiple stitutions in 80 percent of coun- lated institutions. Only a third of forms of microfinance institu- tries.8 Fewer than 10 percent of countries had data on the number tions exist, with at least one form high-income countries regulate or of loans. Given the social focus regulated by another authority, even have microfinance institu- of most microfinance institutions such as the ministry of finance. Microfinance institutions are su- pervised by the main financial tions as a category within the reg- ulatory framework. and their objective to improve outreach, they usually monitor the numbers of their borrowers 1 Measuring financial access authority in more than 40  per- Data on the number and value and savers, as demonstrated by cent of developing countries. An of loans and deposits are much their self-reporting of such data to exception is Africa, where central less available for microfinance the Microfinance Information Ex- change. Asking microfinance in- stitutions to routinely report these Figure 1.4 In almost half of countries specialized state financial data to the regulator could be institutions are regulated by the main bank regulator valuable for monitoring access to financial services for the poor. But Regulated by a as for cooperatives, the regulator’s bank regulator only ability to collect comprehensive 41% data on microfinance institutions Not regulated 38% is constrained by limited resources and capacity. 14% 7% Regulated by other regulator only Regulated by botha Improving data Note: Data are for 129 countries. collection for measuring a. Multiple types of specialized state financial institutions exist, some regulated by different regulatory bodies. Source: Financial Access database. access Figure 1.5 In more than 40 percent of countries microfinance institutions are regulated by the main bank regulator There is no substitute for reliable data. Collecting country informa- Regulated by a tion on the use of financial ser- bank regulator only vices is essential to track progress 35% and set priorities for action for na- Not regulated 48% tional and international bodies. Regulators can facilitate data col- lection by setting clear guidelines 9% for reporting key financial access 8% Regulated by botha data and by weighing the ben- efits of better data with the costs Regulated by other regulator only of compliance for different finan- Note: Data are for 130 countries. a. Multiple types of microfinance institutions exist, some regulated by different regulatory bodies. cial institutions. Similar to the ap- Source: Financial Access database. proach for monitoring systemic Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 9 risks, a focus on larger institutions surveys, definitions of formal and debt. Such aggregation is not pos- in terms of the number of clients informal financial institutions, sible for deposits, because informa- is justified, especially among non- and availability and use of service. tion on deposits in most countries bank financial institutions, which For an in-depth discussion, see is protected by strong bank secrecy often lack systems to report the Barr, Kumar, and Litan (2007). provisions, making it impossible to data. Where different regulators 3. Demirgüç-Kunt, Beck, and collect data on individual deposits supervise various types of financial Honohan 2008. and deposit holders. institutions, better coordination is 4. Beck, Demirgüç-Kunt, and 6. See methodology appendix needed to gather the data on access Martinez Peria 2007; World Bank for more detail. in the entire regulated system. 2008a. 7. This is due in part to the fact 5. For credit this problem can that the financial systems in many be solved by extracting data from developing countries are smaller credit registries. A credit registry and regulators are able to obtain Notes merges information at the loan necessary data on an ad hoc basis level to provide the consolidated when requested. 1. Barr, Kumar, and Litan 2007. debt for each borrower and can 8. Member countries of the Cen- 2. Some of the differences in- provide the total number of unique tral Bank of West African States clude household and individual borrowers and their respective did not respond to the survey. 10 Financial Access 2009 2 Savings and payments In most developed economies more as given their transformation into than 90 percent of households use deposit-taking institutions. And bank accounts to save and to make many governments and financial payments.1 The ubiquity of such regulators have placed financial services speaks to their critical role inclusion somewhere on their list in daily life. But where they are of priorities, some nearer the top not available, as in many poorer than the bottom. countries around the world, indi- viduals are denied a basic service and forced to rely on informal sav- ings and payment techniques that Measuring may be of inferior security, liquid- ity, and return. Recent research access to shows that low-income entrepre- deposit services neurs given access to a formal bank account invest more in their The most appropriate measure of businesses, consume more, and are the use of deposit services is the less prone to sell business assets to number of unique depositors in a deal with health emergencies.2 country. But few regulators have these data. This report uses the Despite many challenges, there are number of deposit accounts per promising signs that the poor can 1,000 adults, including saving, profitably be offered savings and checking, and time, as the proxy payments services in great num- measure for access to financial bers. Perhaps most promising are services (map 2.1).3 the developments in branchless banking—the use of innovative Rates of deposit account owner- technologies (such as smart cards ship in formal institutions vary and mobile phones), coupled with greatly around the world. Of the the use of nonbank agents, to pro- seven countries that have fewer vide banking services to areas pre- than 100 bank accounts per viously difficult to serve profitably. 1,000 adults, five are in Africa—­ In addition, many microfinance Burundi, Democratic Republic institutions have begun to take of Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar,  11 Seven countries have fewer than 100 deposit accounts in banks and Map 2.1 regulated nonbank financial institutions per 1,000 adults Deposit accounts per 1,000 adults 500.0 or fewer 500.1–1,000.0 1,000.1–2,000.0 2,000.1 or more No data Note: Estimates for countries that did not report the number of accounts in commercial banks were generated from a statistical model that uses income per capita and vari- ous features of the financial system—such as the number of bank branches per 100,000 adults and the value of deposits per adult—to predict the number of commercial bank accounts. Where the number of accounts in nonbanks was not reported, an attempt was made to fill in data from other sources. The estimates for bank and nonbank categories were summed by country to estimate the total number of deposit accounts in each country. See the methodology appendix for more details. Source: Financial Access database. and Mauritania. High-income accounts in commercial banks How many people use the formal countries exhibit the greatest de- per 1,000 adults.5 Higher rates financial system? Regulators do not posit penetration, with an average of bank account ownership thus have data on the number of unique of more than 2,000 accounts per equate to more banked individu- depositors, but a rough estimate is 1,000 adults. als in the population. possible by combining information on the number of accounts from Underlying the wide variation in There are more deposit the Financial Access Survey with rates of account ownership are accounts than adults in the data from recent comparable large differences in poor house- the world, concentrated household surveys. Data on the to- holds’ access to formal savings. In in the rich countries tal number of adults with a bank recent household surveys Malawi, account come from 17 compara- Pakistan, Rwanda, and Uganda4 Adding all the predicted and re- ble household surveys conducted all reported fewer than 20 per- ported values puts the global in both developing and developed cent of households saving through number of bank and nonbank ac- countries since 2003. Dividing the formal institutions, and Financial counts at approximately 6.2 bil- reported numbers of bank accounts Access Survey data show them lion, or more than one for each in these countries by the number to have fewer than 225 bank ac- adult on the planet.6 While there of adults with an account gives the counts per 1,000 adults. In con- are more than enough accounts to number of accounts per banked trast, the European Commission go around, they are not distrib- adult—estimated between 2.2 and calculates that in Belgium and uted equally. In developed coun- 3.8.8 Assuming three accounts the Netherlands more than 98 tries there are an estimated 3.2 per banked adult on average puts percent of households have bank accounts per adult, but in devel- the number of unbanked adults at accounts, and survey data show oping countries, less than than about 160 million (19 percent of them to have more than 1,500 0.9 account per adult.7 adults) in developed countries and 12 Financial Access 2009 2.7 billion (72 percent of adults) in reported data on the number and of accounts in nonbank institu- developing countries.9 value of deposits, even when regu- tions likely is more conservative lated by the main financial author- than the one for banks, understat- Banks are the main providers of ity, which makes robust statistical ing the true size of the nonbank deposit services, holding more estimates difficult. The estimates -taking sector. deposit­ than 80 percent of all deposit ac- here include only the number of counts (figure 2.1). At least 20 accounts for countries that re- In developed countries nearly 19 percent of accounts are held out- ported the number of accounts percent of accounts are held with side commercial banks in coop- in the survey or where additional cooperatives, credit unions, and eratives, specialized state finan- cial institutions, and microfinance institutions. This estimated ratio data sources were available. Even where data were reported, they are not always complete because not other institutions with a mutual ownership structure, four times the estimated 5 percent in devel- 2 likely understates the true cover- all institutions report to the reg- Savings and payments oping countries (though, again, age of nonbanks, especially in de- ulator. Due to these data limita- the true share of cooperatives in veloping countries. Few countries tions, the estimate of the number developing countries is likely to be underestimated). Public insti- tutions such as postal banks and Figure 2.1 The majority of deposit accounts are in commercial specialized state financial institu- banks, but nonbanks play a significant role as well tions are also important provid- Developing countries ers of savings services in develop- ing countries, holding 12 percent Micro nance institutions 1% Specialized state of total deposits. Microfinance nancial institutions 12% institutions, as a separate regu- Cooperatives lated type of institution, hold only 5% about 1 percent of deposits, con- centrated in developing countries. As a rule, bank accounts 82% Commercial banks are for the well off, with exceptions Financial access is not a problem for Developed countries the rich, even in poorer countries. Specialized state nancial institutions 1% Countries with the highest num- bers of households below the inter- Cooperatives national poverty line often have the 19% lowest deposit account penetration (figure 2.2). Their banking sectors target mainly the richest inhabit- ants, leaving the more numerous poor with few options. Worldwide, 80% Commercial banks an “access gap” excludes the world’s poorest from the formal financial sector, leaving the majority of ac- Source: Financial Access database. counts owned by the rich. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 13 Figure 2.2 Countries with higher poverty rates have the lowest account penetration Share of population living on less than $2 a day (percent) Deposit accounts per 100 adults 100 250 80 200 60 150 40 100 20 50 0 0 M Z run a ad am di R as a m ba da ng a, T e la he Ne sh Ni I pal ra ia oz G gua E biq a Ca thio ue b a M ala ia P g i M aki olia rit an Sa en a In lva ya a a Ph rm nka Ho pi ia Ec dur s ua as em ru Pa Bol la Ve T rag ivia la d yz M , RB Co pu co Sw lomblic Pa ilana Bunamd l a o ia M lgeria Ja roc ia m co ba a M C ia Az ala hile ba ia Jo ijan Huunis n ng ia nd Ky zue ilan y la y Ga im an r Sr one or Gu dor on w Z w ca ne ha ua Po ar n ne Bu and i Ba bi bw n m pi El K ani i L si az bi Al aic T da ag b ca nd M od ili en Gegar A rg n er ys a d d at Pe Re exi de am ha au st r Ug o p A M rg Source: Financial Access database. Does higher account penetra- tion translate into more access In countries with higher incomes and greater for the poor? In the absence of Figure 2.3 availability of deposit services, average deposit direct data on incomes, average size is smaller relative to average income deposit size gives a rough proxy Deposit accounts in commercial banks per 1,000 adults for the average income of the ac- 6,000 count holders.10 Banks usually reach high-income clients before 5,000 they reach poor ones. When fi- 4,000 nancial access improves and more people use banking services, the 3,000 new clients tend on average to 2,000 be poorer than the existing ones, and thus to hold smaller accounts 1,000 (figure 2.3). For countries with 0 higher incomes and greater de- posit penetration, the ratio of ac- 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 GDP per capita (2007 $) count size relative to income is lower. The average deposit ac- Note: Circle diameter indicates the average size of deposit accounts in the country. Source: Financial Access database. count in commercial banks in developing countries holds funds The average yearly income is For countries with similar incomes, worth more than twice the aver- $224, one-twenty-fourth the av- there is still a strong relationship age yearly income in those coun- erage Congolese account balance between deeper account penetra- tries. In Democratic Republic of of $5,200. Very few Congolese tion and smaller average balances Congo, for instance, there are hold accounts, and the few who relative to income. This relationship only 6 accounts per 1,000 adults. do are wealthy. also holds when bank accounts are 14 Financial Access 2009 decomposed into checking, savings, million deposit accounts spread can become a significant player. and time accounts. Based on these over 155,000 post offices.11 In Bolivia, Ethiopia, and Mada- facts, it seems that in countries with gascar microfinance institutions higher bank deposit penetration, a When microfinance institutions claim nearly half the number of higher proportion of lower income are allowed to take deposits, they deposit accounts as the banking individuals have access. Figure 2.4 Average Nonbank suppliers of account size relative to income in nonbank institutions is lower than in commercial banks deposit services reach poorer clients If not from commercial banks, Average deposit account size ratio, cooperatives to commercial banks 4.0 3.5 2 3.0 where do lower income households Savings and payments 2.5 get their deposit services? The users 2.0 of deposit services in cooperatives, 1.5 specialized state financial institu- 1.0 0.5 tions, and deposit-taking micro- 0.0 finance institutions tend to have . i al p. La ia Ph H via pp ti ua s to ia a o Es nda u ia ca ite m a St a Sp es Po ain nd or a Au cco Gr tria El Geo ce Ar lvad a a m y , C ly Pu Bo or ge or m nd Ja gua Ec ine Rw Ric Un Col Indi d bi M hin i in ili ai an Ita s er liv Ur ton Sa rg M Re d ai ee at la t ay nt De ru o s smaller balances than do those us- o o, Bu iw ing commercial banks within the Ta ng Co same country (figure 2.4). One in- Average deposit account size ratio, terpretation is that the clients of specialized state nancial institutions to commercial banks these nonbank providers, making 1.2 smaller size deposits, are on average 1.0 poorer than customers at commer- 0.8 cial banks within the same country. 0.6 0.4 Many nonbank financial institu- 0.2 tions cater to poorer clients, but 0.0 what is the scope for their serving Mo an Le co o Me e Za o Ma bia Sw sia Tu d ia dia h u an di ilip a es ng or th il xic Ph hin n r es nis n Ba uad Pe c pin Ch ist ila large numbers of clients? While lay m In Ta Buru so ro lad ,C k az Ec Pa banks dominate deposit mar- iw kets in most countries, in 7 of 48 Average deposit account size ratio, countries with data, nonbank fi- micro nance institutions to commercial banks 1.2 3.69 nancial institutions hold more 1.0 deposits than banks (figure 2.5). 0.8 In Spain cooperatives have more than twice the deposit accounts 0.6 held in the Spanish commercial 0.4 banking sector. Chile and India 0.2 both have very large postal bank- 0.0 ing networks. In India, the state- Pa ia ad tan Et s Ug a Bu a Rw i ca a a Ec ia a ico ru a r Pa r nd ca do e i d d gu m bi d op liv Pe in an an ex bo m ru s as na ua ra Bo pp hi ki Za M m ag run postal bank, Indiapost, is one ili Ca Ni Ph M of the world’s broadest depository institutions, with more than 172 Source: Financial Access database. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 15 Figure 2.5 Nonbank institutions—important in delivering deposit services Burundi Commercial banks Zimbabwe Cooperatives Congo, Dem. Rep. Specialized state nancial institutions Ethiopia Micro nance institutions Rwanda Mozambique Uganda Madagascar Gambia, The Bangladesh Cambodia Lesotho Pakistan Zambia Yemen, Rep. Nicaragua India Bolivia Philippines Syrian Arab Republic Georgia Morocco Swaziland El Salvador Ecuador Tunisia Colombia Peru Jamaica Panama Botswana Argentina Malaysia Uruguay Mexico Chile Poland Latvia Estonia Czech Republic Puerto Rico Spain Greece Italy Austria United States 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 Deposit accounts per 1,000 adults Note: This figure does not represent the totality of the financial system and corresponds solely to the aggregation of data for different institutional categories, when available. Not all countries provided information on every institution type. Countries are listed in ascending order of income per capita. Source: Financial Access database. sector. In Bolivia, the Philippines, number of clients served by these by a broad set of factors including and Rwanda they have roughly institutions in some countries also overall level of economic develop- three-quarters of the number highlights the need for proper su- ment, trust in the financial sys- of deposit accounts of the regu- pervision and regulation. tem, distance, and competition. lated cooperative sector.12 Under Cross-country analysis using data the right circumstances nonbank Features of countries for countries with information on deposit-­taking institutions, in- with higher account the number of bank deposit ac- cluding cooperatives, specialized penetration counts shows a strong correlation state financial institutions, and between bank deposit account microfinance institutions, could The availability of deposit ser- penetration and income per cap- reach many poor clients. The large vices in a country is influenced ita (figure 2.6). This relationship 16 Financial Access 2009 reflects the fact that financial sys- Figure 2.6 Income, deposit insurance, and population density tems are generally more developed correlate with deposit account penetration in richer countries, and higher in- Deposit accounts in commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) come individuals are more desir- High able customers for banks. Trust in the financial system is a precondition for individuals to give their money to banks. In the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and other Eastern European coun- tries it took years before people re- 2 turned to banks after losing their Savings and payments life’s savings to high inflation and Low Low High bank collapses in the 1990s. A de- Income posit insurance scheme, which can increase confidence in the bank- Deposit accounts in commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) High ing system, is also strongly corre- lated with deposit account pene- tration (see figure 2.6).13 Countries with higher population density tend to have greater de- posit penetration (see figure 2.6). This relationship results from the fact that a greater population can be served by fewer branches in Low densely populated areas. Physical Not available Available Presence of deposit insurance distance is often cited in house- hold surveys as a reason for not Deposit accounts in commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) opening a bank account. In Zam- High bia half of those who are not banked and not extremely poor do not open an account because the nearest bank branch is too far. (Geographic outreach is discussed in chapter 4.) Competitive pressure can improve the efficiency of banks and in- Low crease the benefits they provide the Low High economy.14 Anecdotally, the com- Population density petition in the banking system is a Note: Correlations control for income per capita, whether the country is an offshore financial center, population den- sity, crisis occurrence, and availability of deposit insurance. The relationships are significant at the 5 percent level. major factor in determining how Source: Financial Access database. active banks are in reaching out to Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 17 lower income clients. But compe- channels government payments of the population can produce an tition is very difficult to measure directly to individual deposit ac- electricity bill—a standard proof consistently across countries. Var- counts, which has the potential to of address in many high-income ious proxies for competition (such simultaneously achieve greater ef- countries.17 Moreover, some coun- as concentration and banks’ cost- ficiency and financial access. And tries do not have reliable identifica- to-income ratio) are positively the fourth covers tax advantages, tion issuance systems. In Indone- correlated with the deposit pen- matched savings, and other incen- sia, Nigeria, and other countries an etration indicators in the Finan- tives to promote savings. individual can have several valid cial Access Survey, but not statis- forms of identification with very tically significant. Also affecting Rational “know your different versions of their name on the availability and use of deposit customer” norms each. Most important, the costs of services are such factors as prod- require flexibility collecting “know your customer” uct design, cost structure, and fi- data, and reporting it and other nancial literacy, not discussed in Governments around the world transaction data, are large in re- this report. have put in place strict “know lation to the small size of the ac- your customer” requirements to count, making such accounts verify the identity of bank clients. and transactions unprofitable. In The rules are designed to ensure light of these challenges, policy- Policies to that the financial system is not makers face a real dilemma in set- promote misused for illicit purposes such as money laundering and terrorist ting “know your customer” norms without disadvantaging the poor. deposit account financing. An unintended conse- ownership quence, however, is that such re- quirements may restrict access to Based on Financial Access Survey results, almost all countries require financial services for people with- some form of government-­ issued Financial inclusion is a goal de- out a valid identification docu- identification, and more than half clared in many countries around ment. In addition, governments request proof of address and le- the world, rich and poor. In ad- often impose documentation re- gal status in the country (figure dition to broad economic policies quirements (such as proof of ad- 2.7). Requirements to show proof ensuring financial stability, fos- dress) and other requirements of income, proof of employment, tering competition, and promot- (such as record keeping) that are or some secondary form of iden- ing economic growth, govern- more restrictive than those re- tification are much less frequent ments have tried specific policies quired by international standards, in high-income countries. Low- to improve access to deposit ser- often limiting financial access.15 ­ income countries tend to have the vices. This report reviews four of most demanding requirements but them. The first set of policies bal- The poor in developing countries are also more likely to have excep- ances increasingly strict “know can find it a challenge to pay the tions to the “know your customer” your customer” requirements with costs in time, money, and bureau- norms to assist poorer applicants. the fact that many poor find it dif- cratic hassle to get a government ficult to produce adequate iden- identification card, and many do In some countries “know your cus- tification documents. The second not have other supporting docu- tomer” norms feature exceptions aims to reduce the cost barrier ments or even an address. In Zam- that reflect the local reality. For by introducing “basic accounts” bia 17 percent of people do not example, in jurisdictions where with mandated lower fees and have an official identification doc- many clients do not have an offi- low minimum balances. A third ument.16 In Kenya only 5 percent cial identification card, regulators 18 Financial Access 2009 permit alternative forms of identi- governments adopted similar risk- Policies to promote fication, including letters from lo- based approaches.20 basic accounts have cal authorities in rural villages at- potential, but only if testing to the client’s identity.18 In The only long-term solution to banks are on board South Africa an estimated third of identification is to build a stan- households (mostly low income) dardized infrastructure to prop- Banks often target higher income do not have formal addresses.19 erly identify individuals and make customers and in so doing tend “Know your customer” regula- sure it is accessible to low-income to design products whose features tions originally required new cli- citizens. In the meantime, policy- are not very attractive to the poor. ents to provide proof of residential address, along with a proof of date of birth and identification num- makers need to take into account such domestic realities as the lack of formal addresses, identifica- They may even screen out poor customers with high fees and min- imum balances. In Rwanda the 2 ber. This rule precluded many tion, and supporting documents, typical monthly maintenance fee Savings and payments from opening accounts despite as well as the compliance costs for for a bank account is equivalent the fact that the government had banks implementing “know your to 3 percent of the average work- simultaneously partnered with customer” regulations. Flexibility, er’s monthly wage, and at some banks to promote basic accounts including tiered requirements for banks the minimum balance can for low-income clients. A year later low-value accounts and transac- be a multiple of local per capita in- South African regulators took ad- tions, can go a long way to reduc- come.21 To enable poor people to vantage of the flexibility permit- ing the impact of “know your cus- save, some countries introduced ted by international standards and tomer” norms on bank costs and regulations requiring banks to of- relaxed the rules by permitting client barriers to access. Advanc- fer basic banking accounts. Such customers to open accounts with ing technologies, such as smart accounts may feature no or low less stringent identification re- cards and biometrics, also hold fees, no minimum balance require- quirements as long as withdrawals promise for identifying customers ment, and a small number of free did not exceed a threshold. Other at lower cost. automated teller machine (ATM) transactions or withdrawals. These accounts are viewed as an entry Figure 2.7 Information requested as part of product with the eventual goal of “know your customer” requirements “graduating” to full-scale banking. Percent of countries with requirement For example, Mzansi accounts in 100 Low-income countries South Africa have no monthly fee Middle-income countries High-income countries and no minimum balance but allow 80 86 79 81 only one free monthly cash deposit and a maximum account balance 67 60 62 64 61 61 64 of 15,000 rand ($1,875), beyond 61 which customers must graduate to 40 41 41 39 regular savings accounts.22 33 31 20 22 17 21 Basic banking regulation is not widespread. Only 20 of 139 sur- 0 Proof of Proof of Proof of Proof of Proof of Proof of veyed countries, half of them high government address nationality/ employment income nongovernment income, reported a requirement identi cation legal status identi cation for financial institutions to offer Source: Financial Access database. a basic deposit services package Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 19 (figure 2.8). In the United States In India the government directed than 6 million Mzansi accounts lifeline banking was introduced in banks to promote no-frills savings were opened, and today more than several states, with low minimum accounts. According to one study 1 South African adult in 10 has a balances and low fees.23 Simi- in India, many branch managers Mzansi account. Two-thirds of the lar programs target the small per- expressed reluctance to open the accounts were opened by previ- centage of households that are not accounts and seem to have even ously unbanked individuals, and banked in Canada, France, Ger- gone so far as to purposefully con- the accounts fall inactive at no many, Sweden, and the United fuse potential clients into signing greater rate than regular accounts, Kingdom, all high-income coun- forms that refused their partici- indicating a real increase in finan- tries. Argentina, Chile, Colombia, pation in the program. But even cial access.25 Two critical factors and Mexico in Latin America, and without such tricks, when banks explain the success. First, though India, Malaysia, and Pakistan in went to potential clients’ homes banks were prodded by politicians, Asia, have basic accounts targeting to offer a basic account, many res- the accounts were designed and a much larger unbanked segment. idents refused, citing distance and implemented by the banks, which other factors unrelated to the di- expected to profit in the long term. Survey data do not show a signifi- rect costs of account ownership. Second, South Africa has a well cant difference in the number of In a year after opening basic ac- developed banking infrastructure, accounts per person in countries counts, only 15 percent of those with many access points, and large with and without basic banking. who signed up used them.24 unmet demand for basic banking, But cross-country analysis may constrained primarily by the cost not be able to capture their im- Basic accounts were more success- of the service. pact, especially since basic bank- ful in South Africa, where in 2004, ing has been introduced in only a under threat of legislative action, Financial inclusion policies target- small number of predominantly a consortium of South African ing a single barrier to access, such as high-income countries. Country banks developed Mzansi basic ac- fees, will succeed only if that barrier studies report mixed results. counts. By December 2008 more was a binding constraint in the first place. Basic accounts may not prove effective if distance and a lack of fi- Figure 2.8 Only 20 countries promote basic accounts nancial literacy deter their uptake and use. The behavior of the banks Number of countries is another common theme: many 10 policies mandating that banks be- 9 have in a way seen as unprofitable 8 will fail. To achieve financial inclu- sion, political mandates to banks 6 should be aligned with incentives. 4 4 Government transfers to deposit accounts have 2 2 2 the potential to make 0 1 1 1 banks, government, and Europe & East Asia Sub-Saharan Middle South Latin America High clients better off Central Asia & Paci c Africa East & Asia & Caribbean income North Africa An estimated 155 million poor Source: Financial Access database. people around the world receive 20 Financial Access 2009 regular payments from their gov- payments—banks, beneficiaries, in  implementing government-to- ernments for pensions, food as- and governments—all have some- person programs. After Argenti- ­ sistance, cash payments related to thing to gain if the proper condi- na’s Ministry of Social Develop- social programs, and other trans- tions are met and the programs ment switched from cash payments fers.26 The majority of government- are well executed. But some early to a prepaid debit card, the num- to-person payments are in person ­ experiences, outlined below, high- ber of participants who said they and in cash, posing such draw- light the hurdles to realizing the paid a bribe to access their benefits backs as security risks and high true potential of government-to- dropped 12-fold. Recipients also transaction costs for payers and person payments for financial reported an 83 percent reduction beneficiaries. Fewer than 25 percent of gov- inclusion. Of the 139 countries surveyed, 40 (from 251 minutes to 43) in the time it takes to collect their pay- ments, and a 51 percent increase 2 ernment beneficiaries around the reported encouraging or mandat- in the number of people who no Savings and payments world receive their monthly pay- ing conducting government trans- longer need to take public trans- ments in a bank account where fers through the banking system, port to collect their payments.30 In they can also save.27 In addition to including 14 high-income coun- Brazil the switch to electronic de- the potential cost savings for gov- tries and 10 countries in Latin livery of Bolsa Familia grants also ernments, this gap presents an op- America.29 Few countries in other resulted in an 82 percent drop in portunity to increase financial ac- regions are promoting such trans- proportional administrative costs cess for the most vulnerable groups fers (figure 2.9). between 2001 and 2006, from of people. Government-to-person 14.7 percent of the grant value dis- deposit programs can provide re- Early attempts to use electronic bursed to 2.6 percent.31 cipients with the ability to save and transfers to reach poor benefi- to make payments safely, cheaply, ciaries of government programs The programs in Argentina and and conveniently.28 The main have met with some success Brazil featured high uptake and actors in government‑to‑person but  also illustrate the challenges satisfaction from even the poorest recipients. But neither program has much potential to improve Figure 2.9 Forty countries offer government-to-person families’ ability to save. In both payments through bank accounts cases the electronic debit cards is- Number of countries sued by the program are reload- 15 able only by the government, and 14 funds must be emptied within a 12 few months or clients lose them. 9 10 Some countries have linked gov- ernment transfers to deposit ac- 6 6 counts, with limited success. In Mexico’s Oportunidades program 3 3 3 3 1 million of the 5 million recipi- 0 1 ents voluntarily chose to receive South East Asia Europe & Middle Sub-Saharan Latin High their payments into an account, Asia & Paci c Central Asia East & Africa America & income though most likely they are previ- North Africa Caribbean ously banked households. India’s Source: Financial Access database. National  Rural  Employment Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 21 Guarantee Scheme provides evi- effective retail payment system proportion, either through direct dence that the suitability of ac- and a large number of cash-in and contributions or tax incentives. counts offered matters greatly cash-out points, such as ATMs Matched savings programs are for whether poor government-to- and point-of-sale terminals (figure mostly used to increase savings, ­ person recipients use them. A re- 2.10). encourage asset building, and en- cent assessment showed that al- hance the financial capability of though 96 percent of benefits As for basic banking, if the banks low-income participants.33 recipients are regularly saving at participating in government-to- home through informal means, person programs lack the prospect Forty-one countries in the sur- more than half of those who of higher revenue, they are un- vey have regulations facilitating opened a formal bank account likely to make the effort to attract tax-incentive savings schemes, did not make additional deposits and serve clients. twice the 21 with matched savings of their own. Distance, time, and schemes. Because tax breaks often poor marketing were major causes, Matched and tax- pass through the political process as most recipients had not been in- advantage savings are more easily than direct subsidies, formed of the account’s functions largely a high-income this difference could reflect polit- beyond receiving their payments. country phenomenon, yet ical factors. It could also explain And four people in five would need to prove themselves as a the prevalence of these programs to spend half a day’s wages and an tool for financial inclusion in richer countries, where more in- entire day to reach a bank branch dividuals pay taxes (figure 2.11). and make a transaction.32 A very direct way of encourag- ing the poor to save is by match- Programs in richer countries often Converting  transfer  payments ing their savings with government target social goals, such as owning into direct deposits in active bank funds. Matched savings plans re- a home or saving for health, edu- accounts could hold promise for quire governments to contribute cation, and retirement.34 But sev- financial inclusion. Most pro- to private savings in some agreed eral programs for lower income grams in developing countries are still in a pilot phase or have yet Figure 2.10 Availability to show they can convert previ- of retail payment system and prevalence of government-to-person payments ously unbanked customers into active savers. As with basic ac- Number of countries counts, careful research must be 100 Countries that provide 99 government-to-person payments done to understand the needs of Countries that do not provide clients. If no thought is given to 80 government-to-person payments the barriers keeping the beneficia- ries from having an account in the 60 58 first place—such as high account 48 maintenance fees or long distances 40 38 to bank branches and ATMs—­ 27 policymakers run the risk of not 20 18 succeeding in improving access. 0 Data from the Financial Access Automated teller Point-of-sale Yearly debit card Survey show that countries im- machines terminals transactions (per 100,000 adults) (per 100,000 adults) (per adult) plementing government-to-per- son programs tend to have a more Source: Financial Access database. 22 Financial Access 2009 has 1,772 (European Commission Figure 2.11 Promoting savings schemes 2008). 6. These numbers are necessarily Percent of countries 60 rough and likely have a wide mar- Matched savings Tax incentive savings 57 gin of error. 50 7. These accounts also include accounts held by businesses and 40 government agencies. The Finan- cial Access Survey did not ask 2 30 32 for the breakdown of deposit ac- 20 21 count data by individuals and 17 businesses. 10 11 8. The average number of bank Savings and payments 3 0 accounts per banked adult does Low income Middle income High income not appear to vary significantly Source: Financial Access database. between developing and devel- oped countries. households in developing coun- long‑term study of individual de- 9. CGAP (2004) estimates the tries aim to increase awareness velopment accounts in the United number of savings and loan ac- of the benefits of saving. In Peru States found that about half the count holders in nonbanks to be more than 7,000 women were paid participants (48 percent) failed to 500 million, leaving 2.5 billion interest averaging 3–5 percent for become “savers.”37 poor people around the world their deposits and were granted who do not get services from non- three complementary monetary Although these case studies in- banks. Those numbers are not di- incentives: matching the first de- dicate that paying people to rectly comparable to the ones here posit, matching subsequent depos- save increases their savings rate, because they do not include com- its, and providing supplements for two questions remain: is there a mercial banks and because they emergency withdrawals.35 Women cheaper way to achieve the same add loan and deposit accounts. used their accounts to save, but results? And do customers con- Even so, the estimate of 2.5 billion not as intensively as expected tinue saving after the program unbanked poor is similar to the given the generous incentives. ends? The answers are unclear. estimate here of 2.7 billion adults in developing countries (some of Some  st ud ie s  i n  de veloped whom may not be poor). countries­ —including Australia, 10. It is assumed that the average the United Kingdom, and the Notes deposit size reflects the income of United States—have shown that the average depositor. Various fac- matched savings schemes have 1. European Commission 2008. tors may cause the relationship changed the savings habits of low- 2. Caskey, Duran, and Solo between account size and income income families somewhat. For 2006; Dupas and Robinson 2009. to break down, including the facts example, 70 percent of partici- 3. For countries with no data, that many large or dormant ac- pants in an Australian matched the map uses estimates; see the counts may move the average, savings program reported they methodology appendix. that account-holding patterns re- are still saving the same amount 4. FinScope 2006, 2008a,b, 2009. flect other financial options that or more 12–24 months after 5. Belgium has 3,724 accounts per vary from country to country, completing the program.36 But a 1,000 adults, and the Netherlands that the composition of business Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 23 and government accounts var- 14. Demirgüç-Kunt and Huiz- 26. Pickens, Porteous, and Rot- ies in the total, and that the aver- inga 1998. man forthcoming. age number of accounts a person 15. The Financial Action Task 27. This number excludes In- owns varies. Force is the intergovernmental dia and South Africa; see Pick- 11. Indiapost holds approximately body that sets global standards ens, Porteous, and Rotman 3 percent of the world’s estimated for anti–money laundering and (forthcoming). 5.7 billion deposit accounts. Some combating the financing of terror- 28. Pickens, Porteous, and Rot- of Indiapost’s accounts may not ism, assesses member compliance man forthcoming. be active, and some account hold- with those standards, and pro- 29. There is a lot of heteroge- ers may hold multiple accounts, so motes global compliance with the neity among different types of 172 million does not represent ac- standards. government­ -to-person programs, tive customers. 16. FinScope Zambia 2005. ranging from conditional cash 12. Data that allow cooperatives 17. Genesis Analytics 2008. transfers to unemployment bene- and microfinance institutions to 18. Isern and Porteous 2005. fits, social security payments, and be compared are available for only 19. Isern and Porteous 2005. pensions. a few countries, so comparison of 20. Genesis Analytics 2008. 30. Duryea and Schargrodsky these categories for many other 21. World Bank 2008a. 2007. countries is not possible. 22. The average account balance 31. Consolidating several social 13. The measure of deposit in- in South African commercial benefits into one payment also ac- surance is a binary variable for banks is $11,000. counts for a portion of the savings the presence of deposit insurance 23. For example, New York State seen by Bolsa Familia; see Lindert formally guaranteed by the gov- mandates basic accounts in which and others (2007). ernment. However, a growing initial deposits need not exceed 32. Ramji 2009. body of research has shown that $25, the minimum balance is no 33. Russel 2008; Sherraden overly generous deposit insurance more than $0.10, allowing at least 2006. schemes may lead to greater in- eight free withdrawals and unlim- 34. Duflo and others 2006. stability and lower levels of finan- ited free deposits; see Doyle, Lo- 35. Trivelli 2007. cial development in the long run; pez, and Saidenberg (1998). 36. Russell, Harlim, and Brooks see Demirgüç-Kunt, Kane, and 24. Thyagarajam 2008. 2008. Laeven (2006). 25. Genesis Analytics 2008. 37. Sherraden 2008. 24 Financial Access 2009 3 Credit For millennia civilizations have from lending to corporations. It used credit to grow crops, finance requires processing a large num- trade, and invest in production and ber of small loans, increasing the construction. Economic develop- lender’s operating cost per loan. ment is impossible without credit, In addition, many small busi- a fact that modern empirical stud- nesses and individuals lack collat- ies confirm.1 Just as businesses need eral, a credit history, and official credit to grow, individuals need records of income and operations. credit to smooth consumption, be So, lenders are reluctant to finance it borrowing for education to get this market segment, and if they a job in the future or paying bills do, the price can be high. before the paycheck arrives. And at the extreme borrowing can mean survival for the poor with unsta- ble incomes. In a recent study in Measuring South Africa most poor borrowers used loans to buy food and pay bus access to credit fares to get to work.2 Those able to borrow were 11 percent more likely Measuring access to credit poses to keep a job, 7 percent less likely a challenge, because not all indi- to be below the poverty line, and 6 viduals and businesses should be percent less likely to experience se- able to access credit, only those vere hunger. able to repay their loans. The chal- lenge is to distinguish between Many small firms and low-­ income those who can repay loans and individuals lack access to credit those who cannot. When asked in developing countries.3 Most about access to credit in surveys, emerging markets have a devel- households and enterprises often oped corporate credit sector, but provide conflicting answers, mak- formal retail credit, including ing perception indicators unre- lending to small businesses and liable. A change in the use of fi- individuals, is only starting to nance and changes in perceptions take shape. Lending to individuals of access to finance as a problem, and small businesses is different as reported in enterprise surveys,  25 Many small businesses and en- Figure 3.1 Change in perceptions of access to credit is not trepreneurs in developing coun- correlated with a change in use of credit tries are not registered and bor- Use of credit (percent change) row as individuals, not as firms. 40 Moreover, small business own- 30 ers and entrepreneurs tend to mix their own finances with business 20 finances, using personal loans to 10 bridge financing gaps. The num- 0 ber and value of loans to individu- als are thus appropriate proxies for –10 measuring access and use of for- –20 mal financial services by individu- als and small firms. –30 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 Perception that access to credit is a major problem (percent change) What is the status of access to credit in countries around the Source: Financial Access database. world? The penetration of loans, measured by the number of are not correlated (figure  3.1). In regulators of 139 provided infor- bank loans per 1,000 adults, var- the former Yugoslav Republic of mation on the number of bank ies widely across countries and is Macedonia the number of firms borrowers.5 Even fewer data are closely correlated with economic receiving a loan increased 10 per- available on borrowers in regulated development (map 3.1). Devel- cent between 2002 and 2005, cooperatives, specialized state fi- oped economies have the largest while the number of firms re- nancial institutions, and micro- number of loans per 1,000 adults.6 porting that obtaining financing finance institutions. Information In Estonia and Greece there is one is a major problem also increased on the number of loans is available loan for every adult. Eastern Eu- 10 percent. Is access to credit in more widely, with 70 countries re- rope and Central Asia experienced Macedonia more available now or porting numbers for banks. record credit growth in the past less? Hard to say. But the use of fi- decade and now average 367 loans nance definitely increased. Given Numbers of loans to per 1,000 adults. Sub-Saharan Af- the difficulty of estimating access, individuals are the most rica has the lowest loan penetra- most studies focus on measuring available measure of tion. At the extreme, in Burundi the use of credit.4 the use of finance by and Ethiopia, there is 1 bank loan small enterprises and per 1,000 adults. The number of borrowers is the individuals most appropriate indicator for use Loans to individuals dominate of finance, but that number is hard Most financial regulators have commercial bank lending by num- to get. First, unlike deposit takers, separate statistics on loans to in- ber of loans. In 85 percent of coun- many credit providers are not reg- dividuals and businesses, but they tries loans to individuals account ulated. Second, even among regu- rarely have data on small and me- for more than 80 percent of the to- lated institutions, information on dium-size enterprises as a cat- tal number of bank loans. But loans the number of borrowers is rarely egory. What is the most appro- to individuals represent less than available at the country level. In priate proxy measure for access half the credit portfolio by value the survey for this report only 25 to finance for small businesses? on average, with wide variation 26 Financial Access 2009 Map 3.1 The number of bank loans per 1,000 adults is correlated with economic development 3 Bank loans per 1,000 adults 50.0 or fewer 50.1–300.0 300.1–800.0 800.1 or more No data Credit Note: Estimates for countries that did not report the number of bank loans were generated from a statistical model that uses income per capita and various features of the financial system—such as the number of bank branches per 100,000 adults and the value of deposits per adult—to predict the number of commercial bank loans. Where the number of loans in nonbanks was not reported, an attempt was made to fill in data from other sources. The estimates for bank and nonbank categories were summed by coun- try to estimate the total number of loans in each country. See the methodology appendix for more details. Source: Financial Access database. Banks serve mostly high-income borrowers Figure 3.2 In higher income countries loans to individuals account for a greater share of the total volume in developing countries Loans to individuals as share of total loans (percent) 50 Low bank loan penetration sug- gests that banks do not serve low- 46 40 44 income customers, a large part of 41 38 the population in poor countries. 30 Loans granted to individuals in poorer countries are large relative 20 25 to per capita income (figure 3.3). In Uganda the average loan is 10 seven times the average annual in- come. Lenders take into account 0 the borrower’s capacity to repay, Poorest quintile 2nd quintile 3rd quintile 4th quintile Richest quintile of countries of countries with income being one of the Source: Financial Access database. main factors. The large average loan size relative to income im- across regions and incomes (fig- to individuals represent less than plies that the few borrowers who ure 3.2). Loans to individuals ac- 20 percent of the portfolio. For do have loans in poorer countries count for more than 40 percent of the Central African Republic and are richer. As markets develop and the portfolio in middle- and high- Democratic Republic of the Congo more people get access to credit, income countries. But in Sub- loans to individuals represent less the size of the average loan rela- Saharan Africa—the region with ­ than 5 percent of the value of total tive to the country’s per capita in- the lowest average income—loans bank lending. come gets smaller. In Estonia the Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 27 with nearly 7 million outstanding Figure 3.3 Loan sizes are large relative to income in poorer loans, compared with 4.4 million countries, where there are few borrowers from banks. In Zambia, where Loans to individuals (per 1,000 adults) commercial microfinance has a 1,200 recent history, microfinance in- 1,000 stitutions have overtaken banks in the number of clients and now 800 have three times more borrow- 600 ers than banks. In Bolivia, Peru, and Nicaragua regulated micro- 400 finance institutions provide a sig- 200 nificant portion of the loans in the market. 0 0 2,000 6,000 10,000 14,000 18,000 In general, nonbank institutions GDP per capita ($) tend to provide smaller loans than Note: Circle diameter indicates the average size of loans in the country. banks, reflecting their focus on Source: Financial Access database. low-income people (figure 3.5). For cooperatives the average loan average loan is 62 percent of the Relatives and friends, often poor size in 13 of 18 countries with data average income. This trend mir- themselves, may not have funds is smaller than that for commer- rors the historical transition in de- to lend, and savings clubs may fall cial banks. For microfinance in- veloped countries from banking apart, making both an unreliable stitutions the average loan size in focused on commerce and high- source of funds. Moneylenders, 13 of 15 countries with data is half net-worth individuals to broad- although sometimes quick and the size of the average bank loan. based banking dominating retail convenient, may charge high in- markets. terest rates and use controversial Many countries have promoted collection tactics. So, poor bor- access to long-term credit for Cooperatives, rowers would benefit greatly from small businesses and farmers by specialized state access to formal financial institu- establishing specialized state fi- financial institutions, and tions providing reliable financial nancial institutions. In the former microfinance institutions services at reasonable rates. Yugoslav Republic of Macedo- are important in nia, Spain, and Turkey specialized delivering credit services As in Europe and North Amer- government lenders are strictly ica in the early 20th century, co- wholesale, channeling funding If small businesses and low- operatives, specialized state finan- through commercial credit insti- ­ income individuals cannot borrow cial institutions, and microfinance tutions, with a total number of from banks, where do they bor- institutions are important sources loans representing less than 0.01 row? Relatives, friends, vendors, of retail credit for low-income in- percent of the number of loans in money lenders, and savings clubs dividuals in many developing banks. But in Bangladesh, Brazil, are still the most common sources countries. These institutions have India, Malaysia, and Peru devel- of credit for the poor, as they were become the main providers of for- opment finance institutions pro- for most people in the world un- mal credit (figure 3.4). In Bangla- vide direct financing and repre- til 100 years ago.7 These informal desh regulated microfinance in- sent more than 10 percent of the sources have obvious limitations. stitutions dominate the market number of loans in banks. 28 Financial Access 2009 Cooperatives, specialized state financial institutions, and microfinance institutions Figure 3.4 are an important source of credit in many countries Burundi Commercial banks Ethiopia Cooperatives Malawi Specialized state nancial institutions Rwanda Micro nance institutions Mozambique Uganda Madagascar Gambia, The Bangladesh Haiti Pakistan Zambia Yemen, Rep. Nicaragua India Bolivia 3 Syrian Arab Republic Georgia Swaziland Albania Tunisia Macedonia, FYR Credit Dominican Republic Peru Jamaica Bosnia and Herzegovina Panama Botswana Argentina Malaysia Brazil Uruguay Turkey Chile Latvia Estonia Taiwan, China Spain Greece Italy 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 Loans per 1,000 adults Note: This figure does not represent the totality of the financial system and corresponds solely to the aggregation of data for different institutional categories, when available. Not all countries provided information on every institution type. Countries are listed in ascending order of income per capita. Source: Financial Access database. Banks in most countries are still provide funding and risk mitiga- the main regulated provider of Policies to tion through various programs credit, but nonbanks in some countries have become an impor- support access and funds to facilitate flows of credit to underserved segments. tant source of credit for the poor. to credit This report focuses on two broad In 8 of 40 countries with data, types of policy interventions nonbanks provided more loans Governments do many things to that are especially important for than commercial banks did. But improve access to credit. Effec- lending to individuals and small few countries provided data on tive supervision ensures finan- bu sinesses — cred it  informa- the number of loans in nonbank — a precondition for cial stability­ tion and consumer protection.9 institutions, making it difficult finance. Better creditor rights Credit bureaus and credit regis- to assess their reach on a global and contract enforcement enable tries allow lenders to screen bor- basis. credit to flow.8 Governments also rowers and make better lending Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 29 decisions. As more people enter rules and regulations need to Information sharing the financial system and credit be in place in order to protect can reduce risks and products become more complex, consumers. increase access Credit bureaus collect informa- Loan sizes in cooperatives, some specialized tion from various sources and Figure 3.5 state financial institutions, and microfinance provide such records as the re- institutions are smaller than in commercial banks payment behavior of individuals Ratio of average loan size, cooperatives to commercial banks and firms for a variety of uses.10 3.0 By reducing information asym- 2.5 metries, they allow lenders to 2.0 screen borrowers at a lower cost. 1.5 As a result, lenders can make 1.0 credit decisions faster and re- 0.5 duce risk, increasing lending.11 Countries with better credit in- 0.0 formation systems provide more di i iti M via Ur sia Es a Tu a a Pa a ca a a m wa ain Re a ic Ar uay Ja ce ca Gr y aw l in ni si di Ni am gu n hin bl Ita n Ha ee ai t ay ni In nt to Sp ru al La pu ug ra m loans to individuals, even after ica C n ge al Bu M n, controlling for income per cap- Do aiT in ita and contract enforcement Ratio of average loan size, specialized state nancial institutions to commercial banks (figure 3.6). 4.0 Despite the benefits, credit infor- 3.0 mation systems are still in their infancy in many countries, and 2.0 information sharing among lend- 1.0 ers remains weak, for fear of client poaching. If a credit bureau does 0.0 not have complete and accurate a h a ru ic ile a i ce ia Sw YR nd il da nd bi di si az es bl op Pe ee Ch an information on performing and ila ,F ay m In ru Br pu ad hi Gr az Rw Za ia al Bu Re l Et ng on M Ba n nonperforming loans, the lender ed ica ac in M m using it cannot accurately assess Do Ratio of average loan size, micro nance institutions to commercial banks the borrower’s indebtedness. The 1.4 credit card markets in the Re- 1.2 public of Korea and Hong Kong, 1.0 China, in 2003, and the consumer 0.8 0.6 credit market in Bosnia and Her- 0.4 zegovina more recently, suggest 0.2 that lenders relying on credit bu- 0.0 reaus with limited information are likely to overextend credit.12 i ia ng ia Pa h an a da a ad ivia Pa il a ru a a r nd ca az si gi m gu in s op b Pe de an st ni m or ov ru as na l Br ra Bo hi ki Tu la Ug Za Ge Bu eg ag ca Et rz Ni Ba He M In a growing number of coun- d an ia sn tries financial regulators en- Bo Source: Financial Access database. courage or require information 30 Financial Access 2009 Babylon, where the fate of a bad Figure 3.6 Countries with more comprehensive credit information debtor was slavery, the first con- systems have more bank loans to individuals sumer protection tool was debt Loans to individuals per 1,000 adults forgiveness by the king, usually High when a debt crisis risked stirring public discontent.15 Policymakers now use a variety of approaches to overcome these information and power imbalances—to pro- tect consumers, promote trans- parency in the market, and ensure fair treatment. This report reviews three interventions: disclosure re- Low Low Credit information systems coverage High quirements, interest rate caps, and measures to address excessive lending that result in consumer 3 Note: Correlation controls for income per capita, strength of contract enforcement regulations, and whether the overindebtedness. Credit country is an offshore financial center. Relationship is significant at the 5 percent level. Source: Financial Access database and Doing Business database. Transparency and disclosure. Free sharing through either private or their risk assessments. Third, pub- market economic theory holds public credit registries.13 Private lic registries need to partner with that the most effective way to credit bureaus are particularly im- private bureaus to build compre- reduce credit prices is through portant because they collect data hensive systems. Good examples competition. For credit mar- from both regulated and unregu- of such partnerships are credit in- kets to be competitive, borrowers lated entities, unlike public regis- formation systems in Ecuador and would need to be able to compare tries, which focus exclusively on Peru, where bank supervisors pro- the true cost of credit across pro- regulated credit providers (fig- vide the full database from the viders and shop for the best terms. ure 3.7). Because many creditors public registries to approved credit The 1968 Truth in Lending Act in are not regulated, especially those bureaus. These credit bureaus the United States aimed to facili- serving low-income clients, devel- complement regulators’ data with tate this process through manda- oping comprehensive credit bu- information from nonregulated tory disclosure of a loan’s annual reaus is essential to facilitate safe entities, including many cooper- percentage rate and finance charg- access to credit for the poor. atives and microfinance institu- es using a standardized calculation tions, building more comprehen- method. In the early 1960s many A comprehensive credit informa- sive credit information. Americans had access to retail tion system requires a partnership credit, but lenders used different between the public and private Consumer protection methods to calculate interest rates sectors.14 First, a regulatory frame- and fees, leaving borrowers con- work is needed to enable informa- Credit is a commercial transaction fused. A survey in 1964 showed tion sharing between regulated where the bargaining position of that borrowers greatly under- and unregulated entities and to borrowers is generally weak, espe- estimated the cost of borrowing, protect the data. Second, financial cially if they are poor. The need putting it at a third of the actual regulators should encourage or re- to protect borrowers from credi- cost. Disclosure requirements, par- quire regulated financial institu- tor deception or abuse has been ticularly for credit prices (interest, tions to use credit information in recognized since ancient times. In fees, and commissions), have since Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 31 emerged as a cornerstone of con- Figure 3.7 Private credit bureaus cover a broad range of sumer protection and spread to a regulated and unregulated credit providers large number of countries. Loans per 100 adults 120 According to the Financial Access Slope = 1 Survey, disclosure requirements 100 on loan interest rates exist in 109 80 countries. In all, 47 percent of countries have disclosure require- 60 ments rather than usury ceilings, while 30 percent of countries use 40 both (figure 3.8). The prevalence 20 of disclosure requirements appears to track the growth in consumer 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 lending. More than 90 percent of Public credit registry coverage (percent of population) high-income countries have put in Loans per 100 adults place loan disclosure regulation, 140 mostly in the 1970s (figure 3.9). A Slope = 1 120 large number of countries in Latin America, East Asia, and (more re- 100 cently) Eastern Europe also man- 80 date disclosure. In Africa and South Asia, where formal lend- 60 ing to individuals is in its infancy, 40 only about half the countries have 20 disclosure requirements. 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Beyond credit prices, financial Private credit bureau coverage (percent of population) regulators may require lenders Source: Financial Access database and Doing Business database. to disclose other features of the lending contract, such as fees, Figure 3.8 More key loan terms and conditions, countries use disclosure and not usury ceilings as the main consumer protection penalties, reasons for denial of a loan, and changes in terms (fig- ure 3.10). While requirements Neither usury ceilings nor disclosure Disclosure only to disclose effective interest rates 23% are widespread (76 percent of the countries surveyed), fewer coun- 47% tries mandate other truth-in-lend- ing disclosures. “Plain language” requirements can be especially 30% useful for consumers with less Usury ceilings formal education, literacy, and and disclosure financial experience. Fewer Note: Data are for 129 countries. than half the surveyed countries Source: Financial Access database. 32 Financial Access 2009 The share of countries with requirements to disclose the financial decisions of borrow- Figure 3.9 loan rates ranges from 50 percent in South Asia ers.16 The three main challenges to 91 percent in high-income countries in implementing disclosure rules are lender resistance and noncom- Share of countries with disclosure requirement (percent) 100 pliance, enforcement difficulties, and limited borrower understand- 91 91 80 ing and use of the information. 73 76 60 63 Enforcing disclosure rules has 54 proven difficult even in countries 50 40 with effective supervisory struc- tures, especially as more complex 20 and diverse products test the lim- 0 South Asia Sub-Saharan Middle Africa East & East Asia & Paci c Europe & Latin Central America & High income its of a single standardized price formula. In the first 10 years of implementing the U.S. Truth in 3 North Africa Asia Caribbean Lending Act, regulators had to is- Credit Source: Financial Access database. sue many clarifications and guide- lines on acceptable disclosure practices. Despite best intentions, Figure 3.10 Requirements to disclose effective disclosure forms can become long interest rates are widespread and complicated, with confus- Share of countries regulating (percent) ing disclaimers.17 In the United 100 States mounting confusion, pen- alties, and legal actions eventually 80 led to a substantial reform of the 76 74 law, with the standard format for 60 61 disclosure defined and penalties rationalized.18 As credit products 40 47 change, regulating disclosure is an ever-evolving process. 20 27 For disclosure to be most effec- 0 Denial Plain Change terms Account fees Loan rates tive, borrowers have to under- of loan language stand what is disclosed to them. Source: Financial Access database. Low financial literacy, in both de- veloped and developing countries, reported requirements to inform more developed markets require poses the greatest challenge.19 borrowers about the reasons for more disclosure. There is emerging evidence from denying a loan and plain lan- around the world that consumers guage requirements. Mandatory Does disclosure work? In the 40 find it especially difficult to un- disclosure of changes in contrac- years since disclosure rules were in- derstand and calculate percentage tual terms after a loan has been troduced, there is strong evidence rates. When microfinance borrow- made is present in 61 percent of that they improve the transpar- ers in India were asked about the the countries. Countries with ency in credit markets more than interest rates on their loans, only Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 33 15–20 percent could answer cor- A second weakness of usury ceil- or bring down operating cost.23 rectly, but fully 90 percent could ings that restrict what legitimate When faced with usury ceilings correctly state the size and dura- lenders can charge for loans is that do not allow full cost recov- tion of the loan.20 the unintended consequence that ery for microfinance institutions borrowers may lose access and be and other providers serving low- Initiatives by government, finan- pushed to moneylenders or other income and more remote pop- cial service providers, and civil informal providers charging much ulations, they may retreat from society to improve financial lit- higher interest rates. This may be the market, grow more slowly, eracy and “capability” (a concept especially so for categories of bor- or reduce their work in rural ar- that extends beyond basic knowl- rowers or prospective borrow- eas or other more costly market edge and skills to actual behavior ers perceived by lenders as higher segments because they cannot change) can help make disclosure risk—by virtue of their lack of col- cover their costs.24 So, the poor more meaningful and effective. lateral, steady income, or a prior may find their options limited to Regulators can help by requir- track record. higher cost informal lenders. ing easy-to-understand disclosure templates—such as “Key Facts” In the Financial Access Survey Although designed to protect con- formats that aid comparisons of 39 countries have usury limits, sumers, interest rate caps may in- loan prices, terms, and conditions­ 97 do not. There is no clear pat- hibit the expansion of credit and —and by promoting financial ca- tern across regions and income increase actual costs paid by con- pability. In Peru new regulations groups in regulating interest rates. sumers priced out of the formal require lenders to post tables of The overall interest rate in coun- market.25 Plain language disclo- sample loan repayment schedules tries with usury ceilings does not sure requirements—effectively at their premises to facilitate com- differ systematically from that in enforced and combined with parison across loan sizes and ma- countries without usury ceilings. measures to increase consumer turities. Lenders can go beyond As theory would predict, however, awareness and financial capability­ minimum compliance with dis- countries with more competitive —seem more likely than inter- closure rules, by taking extra care banking sectors have lower inter- est rate caps to improve credit to make their forms and infor- est rates (figure 3.11). market competitiveness and the mation straightforward and user- choice and value for low-income friendly, as well as by actively edu- Usury laws disproportionately consumers. cating consumers.21 affect marginal borrowers, in- cluding the poor. In developing Measures to contain excessive Usury  ceilings.  Sometimes,  to countries the renewed debate on lending. Overindebtedness is a limit or reduce credit prices, reg- interest rate caps has been sparked thorny issue for policymakers and ulation goes beyond disclosure. in part by the concern over the rel- regulators. Effective disclosure can Interest rate ceilings or usury rates atively high interest rates charged help ensure that borrowers under- are the oldest form of consumer by microfinance institutions. Re- stand the actual cost of credit, the protection. Introduced in Babylon cent analysis has found that in- periodic payment amounts, and in 1750  B.C.E., they are still in terest income for sustainable the consequences of delinquen- use in many countries. Through- microfinance institutions is 26.4 cy and default. Behavioral stud- out history, however, enforcement percent of outstanding loans.22 ies provide new clues about why has proven problematic, with To remain sustainable while low- rational people make seemingly actual interest rates consistently ering interest rates, microfinance irrational choices, such as taking exceeding the ceilings, sometimes institutions would need to raise on unsustainable levels of debt, by many multiples. cheaper funds, reduce loan losses, but the answer is far from clear. 34 Financial Access 2009 reasons, the reality in many mar- Interest rates are lower in countries with more kets is that some consumers, in- Figure 3.11 competitive and less concentrated financial cluding low-income people, find markets, but there is no relation to usury ceilings themselves with more debt than Real interest rate they can handle. High In recent years concern about over- indebtedness in Europe, South Africa, and some other countries prompted policymakers to con- sider policies going beyond dis- closure, with some going so far as to place quantitative restrictions Low No interest rate ceiling Interest rate ceiling on the debt that can be extended relative to a borrower’s income. These policies, still taking shape, 3 are a subject of heated debate. Credit Real interest rate High Standard risk management proce- dures require banks to establish a borrower’s capacity to repay. But many factors may induce lenders to grant a loan to a person with inadequate capacity to repay. First, there is the question of incentives, as the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States has shown. If loan officers and brokers are com- Low Low High pensated for origination volumes Bank concentration ratio and lenders do not carry the risk of the loans they grant, there is Note: Correlation controls for income per capita, inflation, availability of credit information, and bank concentra- tion ratio. Relationship is not statistically significant. little reason to be prudent during Source: Financial Access database. approval. Second, the lender may not care whether the loan is repaid Traditionally,  overindebtedness There are clear factors on the sup- on time and in full. Minimizing and the defaults that result have ply side as well, including decep- default and maximizing customer been attributed to unexpected life tive marketing, product designs profit are not always the same. In- events, such as sickness, divorce, ill-suited to most consumers’ stead, late fees and compounding or job loss. But the picture has needs, and perverse incentives for interest can make late payers the grown more complex in recent lenders (and commissioned loan most desirable customer. Third, years, as individuals not expe- brokers) to overlend. Many con- banks may overestimate the ca- riencing unexpected life events sumers were tempted by teaser pacity to repay if there is no credit have increased their loans from rates, payroll deductions, direct bureau to check information on banks, microlenders, and credit marketing campaigns, or fixed the borrower’s existing debts or retailers. payment schemes. Whatever the reliable means to verify income. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 35 In the Financial Access Survey The South Africa National Credit only if a credit registry or credit 30 countries reported having Act, passed in 2005, takes a dif- bureau is available in the country. quantitative restrictions on con- ferent approach. The law does not 6. This figure likely under- sumer credit. The most prevalent prescribe the exact debt-to-service estimates the true amount of loans approach is to indirectly limit the ratio. It stipulates that if the loan in these countries because of the loan size so that monthly repay- granted by the bank was not af- large number of highly developed ments do not exceed 30–50 per- fordable to the borrower when unregulated lenders. cent of net monthly income. The made, the bank risks not being al- 7. Collins and others 2009; limit can be explicit or implicit. lowed to collect in case of default. FinScope 2003, 2006, 2008a,b, In Serbia there is no explicit re- The law requires banks to conduct 2009. quirement, but if loan repay- affordability assessments before 8. Many countries have passed ments exceed 30 percent of the granting the loan, evaluating both reforms in this area in recent borrower’s income, loans must income and expenses, including years; see World Bank (2004, be provisioned at a much higher existing debt payments. 2005, 2006a,b, 2007b, 2008b). level. In Macedonia the limit 9. While consumer protection works through contract enforce- There have been no comprehen- regulation covers a broad range ment law, where only a portion of sive evaluations of these policies, of financial services, the Finan- an individual’s income can be en- making it difficult to assess their cial Access Survey asked questions forced under the court decision. effectiveness. But experience with only on consumer protection In Malawi, where loan repay- other consumer protection poli- regulation in relation to credit ments are often deducted from cies suggests that basic quantita- services. one’s paycheck at the source, tive restrictions are hard to en- 10. IFC 2006; Miller 2003; the limit is found not in finan- force and fairly easy for lenders to World Bank 2004. cial regulation but in the Em- circumvent. Carefully assessing 11. See Djankov, McLiesh, and ployment Act. The law forbids the impact of these policies will Shleifer 2007. any lender from granting a loan help judge their effectiveness in 12. Bailey and Wong 2003. if the individual’s take-home pay reducing overindebtedness with- 13. World Bank 2007b. would end up less than 50 per- out constraining essential access. 14. IFC 2006; Mylenko forth- cent of the after-tax salary. coming. 15. Peterson 2003. In East Asia quantitative restric- 16. Godfrey and others 2008. tions came after credit card crises, Notes 17. U.S. GAO 2006. focusing not on debt-to-income 18. Rubin 1992. ratios for monthly payments but 1. King and Levine 1993; 19. Lusardi and Tufano 2009. on the overall amount of credit. Levine, Loayza, and Beck 1999; 20. Tiwari, Khandelwal, and Singapore sets the aggregate max- Beck and Levine 2004. Ramji 2008. imum credit limit for all unse- 2. Karlan and Zinman 2007. 21. See the Campaign for Cli- cured credit and credit cards at 3. Demirgüç-Kunt, Beck, and ent Protection in Microfinance at four times the borrower’s monthly Honohan 2008. www.cgap.org. income for higher income in- 4. Demirgüç-Kunt, Beck, and 22. Rosenberg, Gonzalez, and dividuals and at two times for Honohan 2008. Narain 2009. lower income borrowers. In Thai- 5. To calculate number of bor- 23. Rosenberg, Gonzalez, and land the credit line cannot exceed rowers, it is necessary to aggregate Narain 2009. five times the average monthly for borrower all the borrowings 24. Helms and Reille 2004. income. across the system. This is possible 25. Bowsher 1974. 36 Financial Access 2009 4 Delivering financial services In most countries opening a greatly around the world. Regional bank account or receiving a loan averages for Africa and South Asia still requires going to the bank are well below 10 branches per branch. Unsurprisingly, there are 100,000 adults, compared with more deposit and loan accounts in more than 25 in high-income countries with more branches, au- countries (map 4.1). In Mada- tomated teller machines (ATMs), gascar there are 1 bank branch, and point-of-sale terminals (fig- 1 ATM, and 2 point-of-sale ter- ure 4.1). A poor client who must minals per 100,000 adults. With travel far to the nearest branch to no bank branch around, Mala- deposit a few dollars is likely to gasies face an obvious disadvan- opt out of the financial system. tage in access to financial services And banks not near their clients through banks, and the percent- have a more difficult time lend- age of Malagasies with a bank ac- ing to small and rural firms.1 Bet- count has been estimated at fewer ter geographic outreach can re- than 2 percent.2 move distance as a barrier to financial access for both lenders Few banks operate in and borrowers, perhaps allowing rural areas banks to be more responsive and less intimidating to their deposit Bringing financial services to ru- customers. ral clients is one of the biggest challenges in the quest for broad- based financial inclusion. In the Madagascar countryside there is Measuring one bank branch for 1.4 million outreach rural residents. The situation is much better in cities, with one branch for every 50,000 urban The Financial Access Survey data residents. More than 90 percent show that the availability of finan- of bank branches in Madagas- cial access points, such as finan- car operate in urban areas, where cial institutions’ branches, ATMs, about 30 percent of Malagasies and point-of-sale terminals, varies live.  37 Figure 4.1 Having more “touch points” is correlated with a greater deposit and loan penetration Deposit accounts per 1,000 adults Loans per 1,000 adults 6,000 1,400 5,000 1,200 1,000 4,000 800 3,000 600 2,000 400 1,000 200 0 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Branches per 100,000 adults Branches per 100,000 adults Deposit accounts per 1,000 adults Deposit accounts per 1,000 adults 6,000 6,000 5,000 5,000 4,000 4,000 3,000 3,000 2,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 0 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 Automated teller machines per 100,000 adults Point-of-sale terminals per 100,000 adults Source: Financial Access database. Map 4.1 Africa and South Asia have fewer than 10 bank branches per 100,000 adults Bank branches per 1,000 adults 5.0 or less 5.1–10.0 10.1–20.0 20.1 or more No data Source: Financial Access database. 38 Financial Access 2009 Among the countries that pro- microfinance institutions and the Poor infrastructure vided data on rural and urban postal bank together have 20 times and red tape limit branches in the Financial Access more branches in rural areas than geographical expansion Survey, there are more bank banks do. In Madagascar there are branches per person in urban areas 10 times more microfinance insti- In countries with a low popula- than in rural ones. To reach rural tution branches in rural areas than tion density, distance remains one clients, banks need to build more there are bank branches. of the main obstacles in access to branches as populations are dis- persed over large areas and cannot Figure 4.2 There are fewer rural branches per rural resident in be served from one location. This developing countries than in developed countries implies that, to serve rural popu- Median by region lations adequately, there should be 50 Number of urban bank branches per 100,000 urban adults more branches per person in ru- Number of rural bank branches per 100,000 rural adults ral areas than in urban ones. This 40 40 is the case in the only three high- ­ income countries that provided 30 data on the split of rural and ur- 4 ban branches in the survey—­ 20 Australia, Israel, and the United 18 14 States (figure 4.2). But in most de- 10 9 10 veloping countries, there are many 8 8 Delivering financial services 2 7 5 0.5 4 4 1 more branches per person in ur- 0 Sub-Saharan Europe & South Latin East Middle East High ban areas than in rural areas. Africa Central Asia America & Asia & & North income Asia Caribbean Paci c Africa For the least banked countries, branches are in urban areas al- Note: Sample is limited to 48 countries, three of them high income. Source: Financial Access database. most exclusively, and as bank branching develops, banks branch into rural areas at a greater rate As branch networks expand, more rural Figure 4.3 branches open, and the ratio of rural branches to (figure 4.3). This likely reflects the population catches up with urban branches fact that as urban markets become more competitive and rural areas Ratio of rural branches to urban branches (log scale) develop and display greater profit High potential, banks seek greater out- reach to rural clients. Are nonbank branches more prev- alent in rural areas than bank branches? Only 20 countries pro- vided information on both bank and nonbank branches (fig- ure 4.4). In half of them, bank Low branches are more prevalent in Low High rural areas, but in the other half Branches per 100,000 adults (log scale) nonbank branches are. In Tunisia Source: Financial Access database. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 39 Figure 4.4 Cooperatives, specialized state financial institutions, and microfinance institutions are widespread in rural areas Zimbabwe Commercial banks Cooperatives Rwanda Specialized state nancial institutions Madagascar Micro nance institutions Bangladesh Lesotho Pakistan Zambia India Bolivia Philippines Georgia Tunisia Azerbaijan Dominican Republic Peru Jamaica Panama Botswana Romania Australia 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Branches per 1,000 adults Note: This figure does not represent the totality of the financial system and corresponds solely to the aggregation of data for different institutional categories, when available. Not all countries provided information on every institution type. Countries are listed in ascending order of income per capita. Source: Financial Access database. financial services. There is little Leone, where electricity is rarely policymakers can do to change ge- available and businesses run on Policies to ography or demographics. For these countries, branchless banking­ — power generators for long peri- ods, branch managers report that improve banking the use of nonbank agents and the a branch needs two generators— outreach use of information technologies a backup generator and a backup (such as mobile phones)—can po- for the backup, significantly in- This report reviews three broad tentially bridge the geographical creasing costs. Reliable electric- areas of policies and institutions gap and bring financial services to ity, roads passable the year round, to improve outreach. The first isolated communities. and good communications net- aims to reduce the cost of open- works are necessary for a viable ing branches through simplified Even when demand for bank- branch infrastructure. branching regulation. The second ing services exists, the branch enables banks to provide financial may not be financially viable if Red tape, bureaucracy, and cor- services through agents. The third the cost of opening and operat- ruption can also increase the leverages the existing postal net- ing it is high. A lack of adequate costs of doing business, includ- work to provide financial services. infrastructure is a major impedi- ing the costs of opening and op- ment to branch expansion (fig- erating bank branches. Estab- Making branching easier ure 4.5). In some countries it is lishing a clear framework for through regulation common for a branch to own a opening branches and reducing backup electricity generator in red tape can facilitate geographi- In the Financial Access Survey, 90 case power goes out. But in Sierra cal expansion. of 139 countries, nearly 65 percent, 40 Financial Access 2009 certain days of the week and hours Figure 4.5 Better infrastructure and less corruption are of the day (figure 4.6). This re- associated with greater branch penetration quirement is often motivated by Branches per 100,000 adults the desire to ensure that branch High working hours are convenient for clients. In practice, this can make it impossible for a bank to provide service in an area one or two days a week, which may be the only prof- itable way to serve the area. Strict security requirements dic- tating operational procedures and construction details are another Low Low High hurdle to opening branches. Since Electricity consumption banks handle money, security con- Branches per 100,000 adults cerns are well justified. But not all 4 High branches are the same, and banks should be given some leeway to manage security to match local conditions. Some may need armed Delivering financial services guards, but others may not. Those holding significant amounts of cash may need more frequent cash pick-ups or more secure vaults than those holding small amounts. Low Low High Only a few countries provide reg- Corruption ulatory exemptions for certain Note: Correlation for top figure controls for income per capita, population density, and level of corruption. Correla- types of branches (figure 4.7). In tion for bottom figure controls for income per capita, population density, and electricity consumption. Both rela- tionships are significant at the 5 percent level. Argentina and Brazil branches Source: Financial Access database. with lower levels of deposit collec- tion have lower security require- require formal approval for each from setting up branches. When ments than those with high num- new branch. Obtaining approval the cost of complying with the bers of deposits. Yet exceptions to is a mere formality in some coun- branch approval process is too high, the security requirements are rare. tries. But in others approval re- banks might reconsider building Of 79 countries requiring branch quires a long application process, branches that are only marginally approval, only 12 provided for se- submission of a feasibility study, profitable—such as many branches curity exceptions in a tiered re- and additional clearances by mul- in poor or rural areas.3 quirement, allowing branches tiple government entities. In some meeting certain conditions to cases multiple clearances and de- Countries requiring approval for have lower security. lays result in months of waiting, opening each branch are also more not to mention costs—official and likely to impose requirements This wide variety of requirements otherwise—that can deter banks to keep the branch open during on branch opening and operation Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 41 Higher income countries are less Figure 4.6 Countries requiring branch approval are also more likely likely to require branch approval.5 to have additional restrictions on branch operations Cross-country analysis among Number of countries richer countries shows that re- 50 Minimum requirement on days/hours of operation quiring branch approval is corre- No minimum requirement on days/hours of operation 49 lated with lower branch penetra- 40 tion (figure 4.8). This relationship 38 34 is statistically significant even af- 30 ter controlling for income, popu- lation density, and other factors. 20 In addition to simplifying the 10 regulations for opening a bank 4 branch, some regulators allow for 0 No branch approval required Branch approval required mini-branches or “windows,” as in Honduras, the former Yugoslav Re- Source: Financial Access database. public of Macedonia, and Mexico. These mini-branches provide only limited services, such as accepting Figure 4.7 Exceptions to the security requirements payments and taking credit appli- are not widespread cations. Often staffed by one per- Number of countries son, they are cheaper to open and 75 No security exceptions operate than full branches. Security exceptions 67 Simplifying regulation for tradi- 50 tional bank branches, while impor- tant, may still not be enough to en- able expansion to remote or sparsely 35 25 populated areas. To address this, a growing number of countries allow mobile branches—the use of vans, 12 2 boats, or other moving vehicles 0 No branch approval required Branch approval required that circulate among communities and provide the services of stan- Source: Financial Access database. dard bank branches.6 According to the Financial Access Survey, 77 of can create disincentives for banks regulator to monitor activity and 139 countries (55 percent) allowed to expand. Oversight by the reg- intervene if concerned. It also en- some form of mobile branch. Since ulator is important, but excessive ables banks to expand based on clients find it hard to go to a bank, approval requirements can im- their own commercial models. the bank literally comes to them, pede branching.4 Replacing the For example, in Argentina, Hon- and the results are encouraging. approval requirement for open- duras, and Hungary banks must When Equity Bank opened mobile ing a branch with a notification notify the supervisor of their in- bank operations in Kenya in 2003, requirement is one way to make tention to open a branch but do it gained more than 12,000 new branching easier. This allows the not need explicit approval. clients in 30 rural communities.7 42 Financial Access 2009 kiosks, and pharmacies. In Brazil, Figure 4.8 Requirements for branch approvals are where regulators permit a wide ar- associated with lower branch penetration ray of actors to act as bank agents, Branches per square kilometer there are more than 115,000 High agents, and outreach extends to every municipality in the country. In India, by contrast, the number of agents (known as business cor- respondents) is considerably lower, since the ability to act as an agent is restricted to nonprofits, post of- fices, and cooperatives.9 To enable agent banking, a clear Low Approval not required Approval required regulatory framework is required to address questions of liability Note: Correlation controls for income per capita, population density, and whether the country is an offshore finan- cial center. Relationship is significant at the 5 percent level. to the customer (agent or bank?), 4 Source: Financial Access database. what agents are permitted to do, agent security, liquidity manage- Regulation of mobile branches especially for banking poor and re- ment, and general consumer pro- varies, but approvals are often mote populations. “Agents” may or tection, such as pricing trans- Delivering financial services granted case by case using exist- may not be agents in the legal sense parency and other disclosures.10 ing regulation for bank branches. of being able to legally bind the in- Without clear regulatory guid- In Kenya and Mozambique mo- stitution they represent (and mak- ance on what banks can and can- bile branches are allowed as long ing such institution liable for their not do, banks are often hesitant as they operate as part of a licensed actions). Some agents are indepen- to outsource activities to third bank branch. Thai regulations per- dent third parties to whom services parties, especially in jurisdictions mit the operation of mobile bank have been outsourced. Regardless where enforcing contracts (such as branches in areas where tradi- of the legal relationship, working an agency contract) is difficult. tional bank branches had recently with agents can reduce the costs been closed, in rural areas, or in an of providing financial services by According to the Financial Ac- area where banking services have obviating the need for investing in cess Survey, regulators in 40 per- to be temporarily provided. Over- new infrastructure, such as branch cent of countries allow banks to all, flexibility in regulating branch construction and staffing. With formally contract with companies opening and operation has the po- agents, reaching the unbanked ru- to act as banking agents to pro- tential to expand the outreach of ral and poor population can, under vide financial services. Africa and financial services. the right conditions, become a vi- Middle East have the most restric- able business proposition.8 tive regulations for agent banking Banking agents have (figure 4.9). Conversations with great potential to expand The question of who can act as respondents reveal that, even in outreach an agent can affect financial out- countries where laws do not forbid reach. In many Latin American agent banking, it often does not Extending  f inancial  ser vices countries agents can be a wide ar- take place. With no clear prece- through agents can be a cheaper al- ray of nonbank entities, including dent to guide banks, they are re- ternative to traditional branching, retail stores, gas stations, lottery luctant to contract agents. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 43 Although the data collected for nonbank actors to provide finan- 6.5 million M-Pesa money trans- this report focus only on agents cial services raises questions about fer customers. But banks in Kenya used by banks, agents are also be- level playing fields between non- are not permitted to use agents to ing used successfully by nonbank banks and banks. In Kenya Safari­ provide financial services, raising actors (such as mobile telephone com uses approximately 9,000 arguments that nonbank actors companies) in Kenya and the agents to provide primarily cash- are given a competitive advantage Philippines. The use of agents by in and cash-out services to nearly in providing financial services. Kenyan authorities are working on draft regulations to permit Figure 4.9 Africa and the Middle East have the most restrictive regulations for agent banking banks to use agents. Share of countries that allow banks to use agents (percent) 70 Pay me nt-r e l a t e d   s e r v ic e s —­ including deposits and withdraw- 60 als from one’s account, payment of 60 60 50 55 utility bills, and loan repayments­ 50 —are allowed in more than 60 40 41 percent of countries where regu- 30 lations permit agent banking (fig- 29 20 ure 4.10). A majority of agents are also allowed to accept loan appli- 10 13 cations. At the other end of the 0 spectrum, the services least often Middle Sub-Saharan Latin High East Asia Europe & South East & Africa America & income & Paci c Central Asia Asia authorized are loan approval and North Africa Caribbean account opening on behalf of the Source: Financial Access database. bank. These activities may pose Figure 4.10 Many countries permit only payment services by agents Share of countries that allow services by agents (percent) 80 66 67 60 64 64 64 58 40 33 20 24 0 Conduct credit Open accounts Receive and Pay withdrawals Accept Collect loan Receive and Accept funds evaluations and on behalf forward from client payments for payments on forward loan for deposit approve loans of the bank applications bank account taxes, utilities, behalf of requests to in client on behalf for opening a and the like the bank the bank bank account of the bank bank account Source: Financial Access database. 44 Financial Access 2009 greater risks in the view of regula- following the success of Brazil, increase access to formal savings tors because they involve originat- where the number of agent out- services. Latin America also has ing loans and identifying deposit lets is 10 times the number of the highest share of countries al- account owners, with the associ- branches. Countries that per- lowing withdrawals from deposit ated “know your customer” pro- mit agents also allow the agent accounts, bill payments, and loan cedures and guidelines. to accept funds into a customer’s repayments through an agent. As deposit account, critical in de- in South Asia, loan approval is What agents can do termining whether agents can the only activity not permitted in varies greatly by region Figure 4.11 What can agents do? What are agents permitted to do? Regulation varies widely, with Index (0, not allowed, to 1, broad range of functions) patterns reflecting the structure of 3.0 Extent of savings functions the financial and payment systems Extent of payments functions Extent of credit functions and the policy focus of the regula- 2.5 tor (figure 4.11). India, Pakistan, 0.92 2.0 and Sri Lanka—the three coun- 0.64 0.72 4 tries in South Asia that reported 1.5 allowing banking agents—­ permit 0.44 0.35 0.42 0.89 0.60 0.67 the broadest set of activities. 1.0 0.75 0.50 0.50 Agent regulation in South Asia fo- Delivering financial services 0.5 0.71 0.67 cuses on the policy goal of finan- 0.44 0.46 0.36 0.41 cial inclusion, enabling a broad 0.0 East Sub-Saharan Europe & Latin High South set of saving and deposit-taking Asia & Africa Central America & income Asia functions, including permission Paci c Asia Caribbean to open accounts on behalf of the Source: Financial Access database. bank in India and Sri Lanka. The only activity not permitted in the Figure 4.12 Customer three countries is loan approval, acquisition is a key constraint for agents to improve financial inclusion though all allow agents to receive loan applications and forward Percent them to the financial institution.11 100 Agents can receive and forward applications to open account 100 Agents can open accounts on behalf of the bank In contrast, agents in 8 of 15 high- income countries (53 percent) are 80 permitted to conduct credit eval- 73 60 67 uations and approve loans, higher 56 than in any other region (12 per- 50 50 53 40 cent in developing countries). Ja- 42 pan and New Zealand have the 20 25 22 most flexible regulation, allowing 17 17 all types of transactions in figure 0 4.10. Europe & East Sub-Saharan Latin High South Central Asia & Africa America & income Asia Asia Paci c Caribbean Latin America leads in en- abling payments through agents, Source: Financial Access database. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 45 Latin American countries that al- even if allowed, especially for sig- access in rural and remote areas at low agents. nificant loan sizes. low cost. East Asia, Europe and Central Overall, then, agents are restricted Banking through post Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa are to performing only payment- offices more restrictive in what banking ­ related functions in many coun- agents can do. In Kyrgyz Republic tries. Regulations enabling agents With more than 665,000 post of- they can only transfer payments, to provide a broader range of fices worldwide, postal systems while in Macedonia and Serbia banking services could expand are one of the most extensive retail they are permitted only to accept loan applications. Figure 4.13 Credit approval by agents is widely restricted Customer acquisition is a key fea- ture allowing agents to draw new Percent clients into the formal banking 100 Agents can receive and forward loan requests to the bank 100 Agents can conduct credit evaluations and approve loans system. For agents to expand ac- on behalf of the bank 93 cess to finance, they must be able 80 to open bank accounts. Although about 67 percent of countries allow 60 56 agents to receive and forward ap- 50 50 50 53 40 plications to open bank accounts, only 24 percent of countries per- 20 mit banking agents to open ac- 17 17 counts on behalf of the bank (fig- 13 1 1 0 ure 4.12). A shared concern from East Europe & Sub-Saharan Latin High South the regulator point of view is the Asia & Central Africa America & income Asia Paci c Asia Caribbean implementation of “know your customer” requirements. But some Source: Financial Access database. countries have enabled agents to open accounts on the agent’s premises. In all cases, banks re- Figure 4.14 Who provides financial services through the postal system? main responsible for ensuring ad- equate “know your customer” re- quirements for their agents. Private provider While many countries allow 33% agents to receive and pass loan ap- plications to the bank, only a few 56% allow them to evaluate applica- tions and make lending decisions State entity 11% (figure 4.13). Most regulators are Private provider concerned about the risks in loan and state entity origination outside banks. In real- ity, most banks are unlikely to del- Note: Data are for 85 countries. egate credit approval to an agent Source: Financial Access database. 46 Financial Access 2009 networks.12 Developing countries Government ministries or special- these activities require different have twice as many post offices ized state-owned companies pro- skills and management structures. as bank branches.13 The postal vide financial services through Mismanagement, lack of trans- system’s wide network can be a the postal system in more than parency, and poor governance powerful distribution channel for half the countries (figure 4.14). In of some public postal systems financial services, especially in ru- some cases postal operations and has resulted in substantial finan- ral areas. More than 70 percent of financial services are provided by cial losses, requiring government countries use post offices to de- the same legal entity, even though bailouts and refinancing. But in liver financial services, according to the Financial Access Survey. Figure 4.15 Participation India’s Post Office Savings Bank of private sector in provision of financial services through posts increases with income has one of the largest retail net- works, providing payment and Number of countries saving services through 155,000 20 State and government Private branches, 90 percent of them in rural areas. But despite the long 16 15 history of providing financial ser- 15 4 vices through the postal network, 12 12 there are few success stories. 10 10 9 7 7 Many countries view the provi- Delivering financial services 5 sion of payment and saving ser- 4 vices through the postal network 2 0 as part of public infrastructure Poorest quintile 2nd quintile 3rd quintile 4th quintile Richest quintile and as an instrument to improve of countries of countries financial access. For many coun- Source: Financial Access database. tries the postal network was the first national payment system, Figure 4.16 Operation where one could transfer funds by of private financial institutions through the postal system is associated with higher deposit penetration telegraph to be disbursed at the post office. In the Russian Feder- Deposit accounts per 1,000 adults ation the postal system still pro- High cesses 80 percent of all payments.14 Maintaining the postal network’s physical infrastructure is expen- sive, and many postal operators face chronic deficits. Introduc- ing payment and then saving ser- vices can increase postal revenue. For example, in Hungary finan- cial services represent a third of all Low the postal network’s revenues.15 Not provided Provided Savings collected by the posts also provide an inexpensive source of Note: Correlation controls for income per capita, population density, and whether the country is an offshore finan- cial center. Relationship is significant at the 5 percent level. funding for the government. Source: Financial Access database. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 47 Namibia, Pakistan, Tunisia, and solutions will vary widely from Only 50 percent of countries with several other countries postal one country to the next. Enabling incomes above the median had banks do not fall under the su- professional financial service pro- such requirement. pervision of the main bank super- viders to use the postal branch 6. Mobile branches should not visory agency, even when postal network is associated with greater be confused with mobile phone banks take deposits. While there deposit account penetration and banking (the use of mobile phones is no one-size-fits-all model for holds great potential for improv- to access bank accounts). postal banking, the role of these ing access (figure 4.16). Financial 7. CGAP 2005. institutions in mobilizing depos- institutions can reduce the cost of 8. For a fuller discussion on the its requires adequate supervision geographical expansion by using benefits of working with agents; by the bank supervisory author- post offices rather than investing see Ivatury, Lyman, and Staschen ity and separation of financial ser- in new branches, giving the postal (2006). vice activities from the core postal network revenue from fees and 9. Recent developments in India operations. the customers a broader range of indicate that the Reserve Bank of services. India may soon expand the array More countries are enacting postal of actors who can act as agents, banking reforms, including those thereby expanding the outreach of permitting partnerships with the the agent model. private sector. According to Finan- Notes 10. For a fuller discussion of reg- cial Access Survey data, commer- ulating agents and other aspects of cial banks or other financial insti- 1. Guiso, Sapienza, and Zin- branchless banking, see Lyman, tutions provide services through gales 2002; Petersen and Rajan Pickens, and Porteous (2008). the postal network in about one- 2002; Mian 2006. 11. Although India has fairly per- third of countries, with higher in- 2. IMF 2006. missive rules on the types of ac- come countries more likely to do 3. Requirements to seek ap- tivities agents (or business corre- so (figure 4.15). Several countries proval to close a branch are also spondents, as they are referred to also have public-private solutions, problematic. by the Reserve Bank of India) can where the post provides financial 4. While the survey did not ask engage in, it has set much more services on behalf of a financial questions about restrictions to restrictive rules on who can be- institution. Brazil granted a con- close a branch, interviews with come an agent, which is limited to cession to Bank Bradesco to op- practitioners suggest that some re- nongovernmental organizations erate payment and saving services strictions on closing a bank branch and former public employees. exclusively through the postal ser- once opened might also prevent a 12. See the Universal Postal Union vice, generating 1.5 million new bank from opening a branch. website at www.upu.int. accounts in five years.16 5. Among 67 countries in the 13. World Bank 2007a. survey with income per capita be- 14. World Bank 2006c. Reforming postal banking pres- low the median, 80 percent had a 15. World Bank 2006c. ents numerous challenges, and requirement for opening a branch. 16. World Bank 2006c. 48 Financial Access 2009 Methodology Financial Access 2009 introduces institutions. A formal financial in- new data from a survey of finan- stitution is a registered business cial regulators in 139 countries. whose primary activity is provision It presents indicators of access to of financial services. Formal finan- savings, credit, and payment ser- cial institutions can be regulated or vices in banks and regulated non- nonregulated. A financial institu- bank financial institutions. Build- tion is considered regulated when ing on earlier work, it is the first it is subject to regulation or super- in a series of annual reports doc- vision by a state regulator. The reg- umenting access to financial ser- ulatory requirements that apply to vices around the world.1 such institutions can be prudential or nonprudential. Data were col- lected for commercial banks and for regulated nonbank financial Survey design institutions, adding value to other studies that have come before it. Data were collected through a sur- To make the cross-country com- vey sent to countries’ main finan- parison of the services provided cial supervisors, such as central by the different types of finan- banks or bank supervisory agen- cial institutions possible, respon- cies. The survey questionnaire dents were asked to classify exist- consisted of two parts: statistical ing types of regulated institutions tables and policy questions. into four broad categories: Statistical tables • Commercial banks—banks with a full banking license. The survey collected data on the Majority state-owned banks numbers and volumes of deposit are included in this category accounts and loans; number of when they perform a broad set bank branches, automated teller of retail banking functions. machines, and point-of-service ter- minals; and other measures of use • Cooperatives —institutions of financial services by banks and with a mutual ownership struc- formal regulated nonbank financial ture, including credit unions.  49 • Specialized state financial • Promotion of access to finance. Access 2009 were larger, reflect- ­ —specialized finan- institutions­ ing growth in the years between cial institutions fully owned by surveys. The loan values are also the state or extensions of the closely correlated with domes- government whose main pur- Survey sample tic credit in International Finance pose is to lend in support of Statistics. economic development or to Questionnaires were sent to 144 provide savings, payment, and countries: 13 in East Asia and Multiple checks for internal con- deposit services to the pub- Pacific, 27 in Europe and Cen- sistency and rationality were also lic. This group includes post- tral Asia, 21 in Latin America conducted. When anomalies were al banks, government savings and the Caribbean, 14 in Mid- found, the respondents were asked banks, small and medium-size dle East and North Africa, 6 in to provide clarifications. In the enterprise lending facilities, South Asia, 40 in Sub-Saharan absence of adequate clarity, the agricultural banks, and devel- Africa, and 23 in high-income data points were dropped (which opment banks. Organisation for Economic Co- occurred in only a few cases). operation and Development • Microfinance institutions— countries. For practical reasons financial institutions whose most small island and conflict- primary business model is affected countries were not in- Main limitations to lend to and possibly take cluded. The sample covers more deposits from the poor. than 94 percent of the world’s The survey collects information population and nearly 98 per- on regulated financial institutions The data collected using this in- cent of world GDP. only, leaving out nonregulated stitutional classification necessar- providers of financial services. ily understates the scale of micro- The questionnaires were sent di- This is likely to understate signifi- finance because many banks, rectly to the governors’ offices of cantly the scale of credit services, cooperatives, and specialized central banks. When appropri- which are often not regulated, un- state financial institutions provide ate, they were also sent to mon- like deposit services. Even though microfinance services as well. etary authorities or banking su- the main financial regulator was pervisory agencies. Depending asked to provide data on all reg- Policy questions on the country and the structure ulated financial institutions, of its regulatory authority, ques- when some financial institutions The second part of the survey con- tionnaires were filled out by one are regulated by other regulators, tains questions on regulations re- or more of the following depart- these data are rarely available. As lating to access to financial ser- ments: research, statistics, su- a result available data understate vices, including: pervision, and foreign relations. the true scale of financial services • Financial services provided Of 162 questionnaires sent, 139 provided by regulated financial though post offices. countries responded. institutions. • Use of agents and correspon- dents. The data passed several robust- Data on the number of borrow- • Bank account management. ness checks. First, the numbers ers and depositors are available in • Bank branch regulations. of deposit and loan accounts for only a few countries. Instead, the • Collateral and lending. banks were compared with those number of deposit and loan ac- • Transparency and consumer collected in recent cross-country counts is used as a basis for core protection. surveys.2 Numbers for Financial counting access indicators, double‑­ 50 Financial Access 2009 clients with multiple accounts. For deposit accounts a margin of are much less comprehensive than Another imperfection stems from error was calculated, in the form those for deposits.5 differing treatment of dormant of a conservative estimate, a pre- accounts—some banks close dor- ferred estimate, and a high esti- mant accounts after six months of mate to give a sense of the range of inactivity, while others keep such values that may apply. To generate Notes accounts open for many years. the map for deposit accounts, the preferred estimate for commercial 1. Beck, Demirguüç-Kunt, and banks, based on actual data and Martinez Peria 2007; World Bank predictions from regression model, 2008a. Global estimates was added to the conservative es- 2. Beck, Demirgüç-Kunt and and maps timate for cooperatives, special- ized state financial institutions, and Martinez Peria 2007; World Bank 2008; CGAP 2004. microfinance institutions, based on 3. Beck, Demirgüç-Kunt and Maps for deposit and loan ac- data from the Financial Access Sur- Martinez Peria 2007; World Bank count ownership use data from vey and other sources.4 The confi- 2008a . the Financial Access Survey dence interval for the global esti- 4. CGAP 2004; World Coun­ where available. Where data were mate of the total number of deposit cil of Credit Unions web­ not available, number of deposit accounts (the high estimate minus s it e   (w w w.w o c c u .o r g ); and loan accounts from previ- the conservative estimate) is 15 per- Microfinance  Exchange  web- ous World Bank surveys were cent of the preferred estimate. To s i t e   ( h t t p : // m i c r o f i n a n c e used.3 For countries where no generate the map for loan accounts, exchange.com). Methodology data were available, estimates were only the number of commercial 5. For further detail, see Ken- derived using simple regression bank loans was estimated, not loans dall, Mylenko, and Ponce framework. from other institutions, whose data (forthcoming). Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 51 Statistical and policy tables  53 Table S1 Financial access: commercial banks Deposits Loans Outreach Average Average Branches per 100,000 adults Accounts account value Accounts account value per 1,000 Value (% of income per 1,000 Value (% of income Country adults (% of GDP) per capita) adults (% of GDP) per capita) Total Urban Rural Afghanistan .. .. .. 4.0 .. .. 1.1 .. .. Albania 451.4 .. .. 102.2 .. .. 21.4 .. .. Algeria 682.9 565.1 1,154.4 .. .. .. 5.3 .. .. Angola .. 32.2 .. .. .. .. 5.5 .. .. Anguilla 4,527.6 .. .. 980.3 .. .. 55.1 36.7 18.4 Antigua and Barbuda 2,960.5 130.2 60.1 650.3 114.2 240.0 27.1 .. .. Argentina 875.3 20.7 31.9 503.3 17.5 46.9 13.3 .. .. Armenia 571.8 16.0 34.7 192.4 22.0 141.5 15.7 .. .. Australia .. 93.6 .. .. 145.1 .. 31.8 24.4 7.3 Austria 2,441.8 58.5 28.3 .. 70.1 .. .. .. .. Azerbaijan 701.9 15.8 29.4 .. 27.4 .. 8.6 4.6 4.0 Bangladesh 318.7 49.0 235.1 42.4 38.1 1,374.6 5.2 2.6 2.6 Belarus .. 27.4 .. .. 46.8 .. 44.9 .. .. Belgium 3,724.6 164.3 52.9 .. 165.9 .. 50.0 .. .. Bolivia 273.7 42.5 247.2 71.6 28.5 632.9 6.3 5.1 1.2 Bosnia and Herzegovina 380.4 53.9 170.7 343.6 65.9 230.9 25.0 .. .. Botswana 481.4 .. .. 79.7 .. .. 6.9 3.1 3.8 Brazil .. 28.7 .. 390.1 33.6 119.1 12.2 .. .. Bulgaria 1,987.3 66.8 38.8 456.4 91.2 230.9 88.1 .. .. Burundi 21.5 34.6 2,893.1 1.3 20.4 28,309.8 1.7 0.8 0.9 Cambodia 75.5 29.4 605.0 24.8 27.9 1,743.2 3.7 .. .. Cameroon .. 21.3 .. .. 14.3 .. .. .. .. Canada .. 73.5 .. .. 74.9 .. 23.7 .. .. Cape Verde 1,103.2 92.0 135.5 207.3 63.2 495.4 23.6 17.5 6.1 Central African Republic .. 9.7 .. .. 11.3 .. .. .. .. Chad .. 8.5 .. .. 7.0 .. .. .. .. Chile 746.3 46.0 80.5 629.4 57.2 118.9 15.0 .. .. Colombia 1,151.4 37.2 45.7 .. 34.7 .. 13.7 .. .. Congo, Dem. Rep. 6.1 11.6 3,611.0 .. 0.01 .. 0.3 0.3 .. Congo, Rep. .. 17.5 .. .. 5.9 .. .. .. .. Costa Rica .. .. .. .. 50.8 .. .. .. .. Croatia .. 97.8 .. .. 99.7 .. 33.2 .. .. Czech Republic 1,679.6 87.9 60.8 .. 66.1 .. 22.4 .. .. Denmark .. 96.1 .. .. 127.3 .. 46.7 .. .. Dominica 1,651.1 137.4 109.6 207.1 80.2 510.2 12.7 10.9 1.8 Dominican Republic .. 31.5 .. 309.7 22.6 108.6 10.0 4.6 5.4 Ecuador 494.0 29.8 88.3 .. 21.7 .. 1.6 .. .. El Salvador 737.4 4.9 9.9 .. .. .. 8.2 .. .. Equatorial Guinea .. 17.7 .. .. 9.5 .. .. .. .. Estonia 2,751.9 81.5 34.8 1,021.9 141.9 163.0 22.2 .. .. Ethiopia 81.6 30.7 669.3 1.3 16.9 23,453.0 1.2 .. .. Finland .. 35.6 .. .. 70.6 .. 18.5 .. .. France .. .. .. .. .. .. 23.0 .. .. Gabon .. 20.7 .. .. 13.5 .. .. .. .. Gambia, The 268.9 .. .. 44.1 .. .. 5.5 4.8 0.7 Georgia 661.1 25.3 46.7 349.0 56.1 195.6 18.6 9.5 9.1 Germany .. 23.8 .. .. 27.6 .. 16.3 .. .. Ghana 269.6 .. .. .. .. .. 4.4 4.4 .. Greece 3,219.2 121.1 43.8 1,296.9 77.6 69.6 38.8 .. .. Grenada 2,636.5 151.9 85.4 336.8 121.5 535.0 34.3 16.5 17.8 Guatemala 1,050.1 38.5 63.6 374.4 30.2 139.8 33.1 15.0 18.1 Guyana .. 92.2 .. .. 40.5 .. 6.3 2.2 4.1 Haiti 330.3 34.0 163.8 11.2 13.0 1,836.0 .. .. .. Honduras 744.2 54.2 119.1 .. 53.3 .. 1.5 1.5 .. 54 Financial Access 2009 Table S1 Financial access: commercial banks continued Deposits Loans Outreach Average Average Branches per 100,000 adults Accounts account value Accounts account value per 1,000 Value (% of income per 1,000 Value (% of income Country adults (% of GDP) per capita) adults (% of GDP) per capita) Total Urban Rural Hong Kong, China .. 374.4 .. .. 198.5 .. 24.4 .. .. Hungary 1,570.8 51.4 38.8 .. 84.1 .. 17.1 .. .. India 680.5 51.0 110.0 123.8 38.2 453.2 9.3 3.5 5.8 Indonesia 484.3 41.8 119.6 180.6 29.7 227.7 6.7 1.7 .. Iran .. 64.5 .. .. 54.5 .. 28.8 .. .. Ireland .. 101.6 .. .. 222.1 .. 34.1 .. .. Israel 2,253.6 60.9 37.5 1,055.0 120.3 157.9 19.8 16.6 3.2 Italy 763.2 48.4 73.8 597.3 65.3 127.0 53.0 .. .. Jamaica 1,172.4 42.7 52.7 214.6 31.5 212.3 7.2 4.4 2.8 Japan .. 161.8 .. .. 91.7 .. 12.5 .. .. Jordan 814.2 .. .. 160.5 .. .. 16.2 .. .. Kenya 296.2 44.0 259.1 70.4 32.6 806.7 4.0 .. .. Korea, Rep. .. 63.9 .. .. 75.0 .. 12.6 .. .. Kuwait .. 63.9 .. .. 68.7 .. 15.1 .. .. Kyrgyz Republic 114.7 18.1 224.8 25.2 20.0 1,127.7 6.3 4.6 1.7 Lao PDR .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.7 .. .. Latvia 1,218.6 74.9 71.2 687.1 122.8 207.2 12.0 .. .. Lebanon 1,310.3 328.4 347.3 .. 98.5 .. 29.1 15.9 13.3 Lesotho 199.3 35.5 296.0 18.1 10.8 988.7 1.9 1.7 0.2 Lithuania 2,142.4 42.3 23.4 381.2 79.0 245.8 28.8 .. .. Luxembourg .. 196.2 .. .. 104.0 .. 25.7 .. .. Macedonia, FYR 1,302.1 57.0 53.9 962.1 52.7 67.5 22.1 .. .. Madagascar 33.8 17.8 925.5 20.7 7.6 641.8 1.0 0.9 0.1 Malawi 124.1 16.1 244.4 16.9 11.2 1,250.6 1.8 1.0 0.8 Malaysia 2,226.7 110.4 71.0 972.9 119.1 175.3 11.6 9.7 1.9 Mauritania 37.1 .. .. .. .. .. 3.8 3.8 .. Mauritius 2,109.9 .. .. 416.9 .. .. 19.4 9.7 9.6 Statistical tables Mexico 1,013.6 13.6 19.0 .. 16.6 .. 14.0 .. .. Moldova .. 57.6 .. .. 54.2 .. 9.7 9.5 0.2 Mongolia 1,935.1 43.8 31.1 271.5 58.1 293.5 56.7 13.4 43.3 Montserrat 3,683.3 .. .. 241.3 .. .. 54.2 54.2 .. Morocco 277.4 73.8 377.3 .. 91.2 .. 11.6 11.1 0.5 Mozambique 111.8 .. .. 20.4 .. .. 2.9 .. .. Namibia 466.2 .. .. 355.9 57.4 258.2 7.3 .. .. Nepal 165.4 52.3 510.5 38.3 .. .. 3.2 .. .. Netherlands 1,772.1 247.1 170.7 .. 307.5 .. 26.1 .. .. New Zealand .. 73.9 .. .. 150.6 .. 31.7 .. .. Nicaragua 198.2 42.3 336.4 185.0 36.1 307.6 6.8 .. .. Norway .. 109.5 .. .. 120.3 .. 35.0 .. .. Oman .. 60.8 .. .. 65.7 .. 22.1 .. .. Pakistan 226.1 37.6 258.9 47.1 26.9 889.1 7.5 5.2 2.3 Panama 757.2 199.1 374.7 435.4 101.3 331.4 18.9 12.1 6.8 Papua New Guinea .. 61.2 .. .. 28.1 .. 2.8 .. .. Paraguay 80.1 45.6 874.3 88.7 29.7 514.2 6.2 .. .. Peru 716.4 31.1 62.5 366.8 25.2 98.9 7.5 7.3 0.2 Philippines 516.9 55.7 167.2 .. 30.4 .. 10.5 4.4 6.2 Poland 1,527.4 48.6 37.6 .. 58.3 .. 32.6 .. .. Portugal .. 77.2 .. .. 144.5 .. 55.9 .. .. Puerto Rico 1,025.6 0.1 0.1 .. 0.1 .. 16.6 .. .. Romania .. .. .. 430.7 .. .. 27.6 2.3 25.3 Russian Federation .. 18.4 .. .. 62.0 .. 2.9 .. .. Rwanda 201.8 19.1 165.5 2.4 10.2 7,562.4 3.1 1.2 2.0 Serbia .. 55.4 .. .. 47.3 .. 44.9 .. .. Singapore 2,305.1 307.5 162.7 899.1 245.8 333.4 11.0 11.0 .. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 55 Table S1 Financial access: commercial banks continued Deposits Loans Outreach Average Average Branches per 100,000 adults Accounts account value Accounts account value per 1,000 Value (% of income per 1,000 Value (% of income Country adults (% of GDP) per capita) adults (% of GDP) per capita) Total Urban Rural Slovak Republic .. 47.6 .. .. 39.6 .. 25.7 .. .. Slovenia 1,393.6 .. .. .. .. .. 15.7 .. .. South Africa 788.1 103.7 192.8 296.9 101.0 498.2 8.0 .. .. Spain 741.4 51.8 81.7 309.8 72.7 274.6 40.5 .. .. Sri Lanka 1,651.8 44.5 35.1 487.0 41.5 110.7 9.1 .. .. St. Kitts and Nevis 4,405.9 173.3 53.3 484.1 153.7 430.7 57.4 50.7 6.8 St. Lucia 2,562.6 47.5 25.4 348.0 54.6 215.0 18.8 .. .. St. Vincent & the Grenadines 1,551.2 96.1 86.6 243.6 83.9 481.0 13.9 5.8 8.1 Swaziland 270.3 20.7 124.8 98.3 11.3 187.6 2.9 2.1 0.7 Sweden .. 119.0 .. .. 156.1 .. 22.8 .. .. Syrian Arab Republic 157.4 .. .. 23.3 .. .. 2.2 .. .. Taiwan, China 5,390.2 156.0 34.7 646.3 143.9 267.3 17.3 17.0 0.3 Tajikistan .. 10.9 .. .. 18.3 .. 3.9 1.2 2.7 Tanzania .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.8 .. .. Thailand 1,498.0 86.0 72.8 275.6 92.2 424.3 10.9 3.6 7.3 Tunisia 672.0 52.1 102.6 175.8 56.6 425.6 13.6 13.1 0.5 Turkey 1,851.2 82.3 61.3 315.2 42.5 185.7 17.3 .. .. Uganda 153.7 24.3 311.7 20.8 16.7 1,580.3 1.9 1.9 .. Ukraine 3,755.0 48.6 15.0 .. 99.1 .. 3.3 .. .. United Kingdom .. 113.0 .. .. 142.9 .. .. .. .. United States 1,760.8 39.8 28.5 .. 46.9 .. 35.4 25.7 9.7 Uruguay 507.3 55.0 141.4 438.8 30.0 89.3 13.9 13.9 .. Venezuela, RB 518.4 36.1 100.2 484.1 26.2 77.9 18.5 10.8 7.7 Vietnam .. .. .. .. 105.0 .. 3.3 .. .. Yemen, Rep. 105.7 .. .. 5.7 .. .. 1.8 .. .. Zambia 293.1 28.7 179.3 19.4 25.0 2,354.6 3.5 3.2 0.4 Zimbabwe 139.1 .. .. .. .. .. 2.8 2.4 0.4 .. is not available. Source: Financial Access database. 56 Financial Access 2009 Table S2 Financial access: cooperatives Deposits Loans Outreach Under Average Average Branches per 100,000 adults regulation Accounts account value Accounts account value agency per 1,000 Value (% of income per 1,000 Value (% of income Country supervision? adults (% of GDP) per capita) adults (% of GDP) per capita) Total Urban Rural Argentina Yes 0.1 0.0 119.5 5.9 0.1 12.0 0.0 .. .. Australia Yes .. 5.7 .. .. 5.2 .. 7.3 6.1 1.2 Austria Yes 1,515.0 38.8 30.3 .. 38.5 .. .. .. .. Azerbaijan Yes .. .. .. 3.0 0.1 25.4 .. .. .. Belgium Yes .. 0.0 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Bolivia Yes 169.1 5.5 51.8 17.0 4.4 413.9 2.1 1.3 0.8 Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes .. .. .. .. 0.0 .. .. .. .. Brazil Yes .. 0.8 .. 17.0 0.9 70.0 1.9 .. .. Burundi Yes 54.8 1.4 46.4 7.2 0.9 233.0 .. .. .. Canada Yes .. 11.6 .. .. 11.5 .. 12.4 .. .. Chile Yes 47.5 .. .. .. 0.8 .. 1.4 .. .. Colombia Yes 24.1 0.4 23.7 .. 0.0 .. 0.7 .. .. Congo, Dem. Rep. Yes 11.5 0.7 116.3 5.1 0.6 217.8 0.2 0.2 .. Costa Rica Yes .. .. .. .. 7.9 .. .. .. .. Croatia Yes .. 0.1 .. .. 0.1 .. .. .. .. Czech Republic Yes .. 0.2 .. .. 0.2 .. 0.2 .. .. Denmark Yes .. 0.7 .. .. 0.6 .. 1.9 .. .. Dominica No .. .. .. .. .. .. 27.2 5.4 21.7 Dominican Republic Yes .. 4.6 .. 32.2 3.5 164.1 2.9 1.2 1.6 Ecuador Yes 313.7 3.4 15.6 .. 3.4 .. 0.4 .. .. El Salvador Yes 8.9 0.1 18.9 .. .. .. 0.7 .. .. Estonia No 1.3 0.0 9.6 1.3 0.1 52.3 1.6 0.5 1.1 Finland Yes .. 22.2 .. .. 23.9 .. 18.2 .. .. France Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. 23.8 .. .. Georgia Yes 0.1 0.0 58.2 .. 0.0 .. 0.5 .. 0.5 Germany .. .. 16.4 .. .. 15.8 .. 19.4 .. .. Greece Yes 29.7 1.2 47.0 11.3 1.2 128.3 1.2 .. .. Statistical tables Haiti No 41.6 0.6 22.6 19.4 0.5 40.1 .. .. .. Hungary Yes .. 5.5 .. .. 2.8 .. 20.6 .. .. India Yes 70.3 2.7 56.8 10.4 1.7 247.6 1.0 .. 0.3 Italy Yes 223.0 9.9 51.5 98.7 17.9 210.7 13.9 .. .. Jamaica Yes 929.1 11.9 18.6 23.4 9.7 602.9 2.5 1.0 1.5 Japan Yes .. 28.7 .. .. 16.1 .. 7.9 .. .. Korea, Rep. Yes .. 18.4 .. .. 15.2 .. 6.0 .. .. Latvia Yes 9.4 0.0 5.6 4.3 0.1 16.8 .. .. .. Lithuania Yes .. 0.7 .. .. 0.7 .. 5.8 .. .. Luxembourg Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. 13.5 .. .. Malawi No .. 0.2 .. 31.5 0.2 12.5 .. .. .. Malaysia No 341.6 1.3 5.4 81.1 1.0 17.6 .. .. .. Mexico Yes 0.4 0.2 636.8 0.6 0.2 536.3 0.3 0.3 .. Montserrat No .. .. .. .. .. .. 27.1 27.1 .. Morocco No 106.0 26.7 356.8 .. .. .. 2.8 .. .. Mozambique Yes 1.2 .. .. 1.1 .. .. 0.1 .. .. Nepal Yes .. 0.4 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. New Zealand Yes .. 1.5 .. .. 1.4 .. .. .. .. Panama No .. .. .. .. .. .. 17.3 6.9 10.4 Papua New Guinea Yes .. 1.9 .. .. 1.2 .. .. .. .. Peru Yes .. 0.6 .. 27.2 0.7 37.5 1.2 1.0 0.2 Philippines Yes 7.3 0.1 24.8 .. 0.1 .. 0.1 .. 0.1 Poland Yes 202.0 4.1 24.0 .. 3.2 .. 11.2 .. .. Portugal Yes .. 11.3 .. .. 13.5 .. 14.0 .. .. Puerto Rico No 315.1 0.0 0.0 143.9 0.0 0.1 .. .. .. Romania Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.8 0.7 0.1 Rwanda Yes 71.0 1.7 42.2 .. 1.8 .. 2.1 0.3 1.8 Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 57 Table S2 Financial access: cooperatives continued Deposits Loans Outreach Under Average Average Branches per 100,000 adults regulation Accounts account value Accounts account value agency per 1,000 Value (% of income per 1,000 Value (% of income Country supervision? adults (% of GDP) per capita) adults (% of GDP) per capita) Total Urban Rural Spain Yes 1,732.5 71.0 47.9 425.0 86.8 238.9 76.9 .. .. Sri Lanka No .. 9.2 .. .. 6.3 .. 50.3 .. .. St. Kitts and Nevis No .. 6.5 .. .. 6.4 .. 13.5 13.5 .. Taiwan, China No 188.5 4.0 25.4 9.8 2.8 346.8 1.6 1.3 0.2 United Kingdom No .. 18.7 .. .. 20.7 .. .. .. .. United States Yes 710.9 9.2 16.3 .. 11.7 .. .. .. .. Uruguay Yes 0.8 0.0 46.6 3.3 0.0 12.1 0.0 0.0 .. Zimbabwe Yes 92.2 .. .. .. .. .. 1.9 1.8 0.1 .. is not available. Source: Financial Access database. 58 Financial Access 2009 Table S3 Financial access: specialized state financial institutions Deposits Loans Outreach Under Average Average Branches per 100,000 adults regulation Accounts account value Accounts account value agency per 1,000 Value (% of income per 1,000 Value (% of income Country supervision? adults (% of GDP) per capita) adults (% of GDP) per capita) Total Urban Rural Antigua and Barbuda No .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.2 .. Austria Yes .. 0.1 .. .. 2.4 .. .. .. .. Bangladesh Yes 41.4 2.8 102.8 39.9 3.1 117.0 1.3 1.2 1.2 Botswana Yes 342.2 .. .. 24.6 .. .. 1.2 .. .. Brazil Yes .. 6.3 .. 35.0 7.4 290.1 1.5 .. .. Burundi Yes 0.8 0.7 1,549.8 0.2 2.5 19,813.1 .. .. .. Canada Yes .. 1.3 .. .. 3.1 .. 0.6 .. .. Cape Verde No .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.9 .. Chile Yes 1,186.1 8.2 9.1 178.3 8.8 64.2 2.7 .. .. Colombia Yes 0.01 0.3 33,132.2 .. 4.7 .. 0.01 .. .. Congo, Rep. Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.8 .. Costa Rica Yes .. .. .. .. 0.4 .. .. .. .. Czech Republic Yes 0.7 1.5 2,488.4 .. 1.0 .. 0.1 .. .. Dominica No .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.8 .. .. Dominican Republic Yes .. 1.3 .. 43.7 1.5 51.7 1.8 .. 1.0 Ecuador Yes 57.5 1.3 33.2 .. 3.4 .. 1.0 .. .. El Salvador Yes .. .. .. .. 0.2 .. .. .. .. Equatorial Guinea Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.1 .. Ethiopia Yes 0.1 0.3 6,086.0 0.2 3.1 33,711.6 0.1 .. .. Germany .. .. 28.5 .. .. 43.5 .. 20.6 .. .. Greece No 7.8 2.2 325.6 19.8 1.6 93.9 0.04 .. .. Honduras Yes .. 0.3 .. .. 3.4 .. 0.1 .. .. Hong Kong, China No .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4.0 .. Hungary Yes .. 0.2 .. .. 3.0 .. .. .. .. India Yes 325.3 8.9 40.3 23.6 1.3 79.8 22.3 .. 18.3 Iran Yes .. 9.2 .. .. 13.0 .. 5.8 .. .. Ireland Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. 28.4 .. .. Statistical tables Jordan No .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6.8 .. Korea, Rep. Yes .. 17.9 .. .. 33.7 .. 3.8 0.5 .. Kuwait Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.05 .. .. Lesotho Yes 59.7 1.0 28.8 .. .. .. 1.1 .. 0.5 Luxembourg Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. 19.1 .. .. Macedonia, FYR Yes .. .. .. 0.1 0.01 112.6 .. .. .. Malaysia Yes 1,064.4 12.1 16.3 102.0 8.7 122.0 4.4 .. .. Mexico Yes 67.1 0.1 2.9 .. 3.2 .. 0.9 .. .. Morocco Yes 200.1 4.7 33.6 .. .. .. 8.1 .. .. Nepal Yes .. 3.0 .. .. .. .. 0.7 0.1 .. Netherlands No .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.3 .. Nicaragua Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.3 .. Norway No .. .. .. .. 9.9 .. .. 1.4 .. Oman Yes .. 0.04 .. .. 1.6 .. 1.3 .. .. Pakistan Yes 12.5 0.1 16.7 .. .. .. 0.5 .. 0.2 Panama No .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.9 .. 1.7 Peru Yes 222.1 4.5 28.9 32.6 0.6 27.6 2.1 .. 0.7 Philippines Yes 53.8 5.9 170.0 .. 3.1 .. 0.7 3.0 0.6 Poland No .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.1 .. Puerto Rico Yes .. 0.01 .. .. 0.01 .. .. .. .. Romania Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. 7.7 .. 4.7 Rwanda Yes .. .. .. 0.1 1.0 26,050.3 0.1 .. .. Singapore No .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.3 .. Slovak Republic Yes .. .. .. .. 0.5 .. 0.2 .. .. South Africa No .. 0.5 .. .. 1.3 .. .. .. .. Spain No 0.01 0.2 32,850.1 0.1 1.0 11,767.1 0.003 .. .. Sri Lanka Yes .. 9.1 .. .. 3.8 .. 12.3 .. .. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 59 Table S3 Financial access: specialized state financial institutions continued Deposits Loans Outreach Under Average Average Branches per 100,000 adults regulation Accounts account value Accounts account value agency per 1,000 Value (% of income per 1,000 Value (% of income Country supervision? adults (% of GDP) per capita) adults (% of GDP) per capita) Total Urban Rural St. Kitts and Nevis No .. .. .. .. .. .. 6.8 .. .. St. Vincent & the Grenadines No .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.2 .. Swaziland Yes 143.1 2.7 30.7 16.4 4.3 430.5 1.3 .. .. Sweden No .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7.0 .. Syrian Arab Republic Yes 2.5 .. .. 28.6 .. .. 0.8 6.5 .. Taiwan, China No 1,476.9 36.9 30.0 .. .. .. 6.9 .. 0.4 Tunisia No 476.0 9.1 25.3 .. .. .. 13.3 .. 6.2 Turkey No .. .. .. 0.02 0.8 62,724.0 0.04 .. .. United States No .. .. .. .. 3.2 .. .. .. .. Venezuela, RB Yes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0.1 .. Zambia Yes 18.7 0.3 30.4 5.5 0.5 164.2 0.4 .. 0.2 Zimbabwe Yes 438.7 0.001 0.003 .. .. .. 0.4 .. 0.2 .. is not available. Source: Financial Access database. 60 Financial Access 2009 Table S4 Financial access: microfinance institutions Deposits Loans Outreach Under Average Average Branches per 100,000 adults regulation Accounts account value Accounts account value agency per 1,000 Value (% of income per 1,000 Value (% of income Country supervision? adults (% of GDP) per capita) adults (% of GDP) per capita) Total Urban Rural Azerbaijan No .. .. .. 25.6 0.6 31.0 0.8 0.1 0.7 Bangladesh Yes .. 1.4 .. 66.7 1.0 21.9 2.4 .. 2.4 Bolivia Yes 136.4 4.1 47.8 49.4 5.1 163.6 3.9 2.6 1.3 Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes .. .. .. 22.7 5.5 292.4 14.5 .. .. Botswana Yes 3.0 .. .. 0.1 .. .. 0.2 0.1 0.1 Brazil Yes .. .. .. 0.04 0.001 40.9 0.03 .. .. Burundi Yes 0.5 0.04 164.4 1.8 0.1 74.1 .. .. .. Cambodia No 11.7 0.1 8.4 3.2 .. .. .. .. Congo, Dem. Rep. No .. .. .. .. .. 0.03 0.03 .. Ecuador Yes 0.8 0.01 19.6 0.1 .. .. .. .. Ethiopia Yes 47.9 0.8 29.3 50.4 2.2 77.8 0.9 .. .. France No .. .. .. .. .. 0.1 .. .. Gambia, The No 143.5 .. .. 3.5 .. .. .. .. .. Georgia No .. .. .. 22.3 0.7 40.6 0.7 0.7 .. Ghana No .. .. .. .. .. 0.9 .. 0.9 Guyana No .. .. .. 0.6 .. .. .. .. Honduras Yes .. 0.03 .. 0.2 .. 1.8 1.8 .. Madagascar No 20.0 0.2 19.0 2.9 0.3 188.8 1.3 0.3 1.0 Malaysia Yes .. .. .. 0.2 .. 1.6 .. .. Mexico Yes 21.0 0.1 6.5 0.1 .. 0.5 .. .. Morocco Yes .. .. .. 66.8 1.0 20.6 7.2 .. .. Mozambique No 0.04 .. .. 0.004 .. .. 0.7 .. .. Nepal Yes .. 0.4 .. .. .. 1.9 .. .. Nicaragua Yes 98.4 2.0 32.7 47.0 5.7 189.4 2.5 .. .. Pakistan Yes 16.7 0.05 4.3 16.9 0.2 17.9 1.5 .. .. Panama No 3.0 0.2 114.9 4.3 0.4 124.1 0.3 0.2 0.1 Papua New Guinea No .. 0.3 .. 0.1 .. .. .. .. Statistical tables Peru Yes 73.9 1.8 34.2 73.5 2.5 48.2 3.5 2.9 0.6 Philippines Yes 5.4 0.02 5.0 0.02 .. 0.1 0.01 0.1 Puerto Rico Yes .. .. .. 0.005 .. 21.0 .. .. Rwanda Yes 52.4 0.4 15.0 0.6 .. 4.2 0.8 3.4 South Africa No .. 0.1 .. 0.5 .. .. .. .. St. Lucia No .. .. .. 0.1 .. .. .. .. Tajikistan No .. 0.1 .. 0.04 .. .. .. .. Tunisia No .. .. .. 27.5 0.2 10.7 4.4 0.5 3.9 Uganda No 20.2 0.2 15.9 8.2 0.4 103.3 0.4 0.3 0.1 Yemen, Rep. Yes 1.9 .. .. 2.5 .. .. .. .. .. Zambia Yes 0.3 0.1 662.0 60.7 1.1 33.1 1.2 1.1 0.03 Zimbabwe Yes .. .. .. .. .. 2.5 .. .. .. is not available. Source: Financial Access database. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 61 Table P1 Documentation required to open an account Proof of Exception from identity through Proof of requirements government- identity Proof of for low-income issued through any nationality/legal Proof of Proof of Proof of applicants or Country identification identification status in country address income employment small accounts Afghanistan ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Albania ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Algeria ✔ ✔ Angola ✔ ✔ ✔ Anguilla ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Antigua and Barbuda ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Argentina ✔ ✔ ✔ Armenia Australia ✔ Austria ✔ Azerbaijan ✔ Bangladesh Belarus ✔ ✔ Belgium ✔ Bolivia ✔ ✔ ✔ Bosnia and Herzegovina ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Botswana ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Brazil ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Bulgaria ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Burundi Cambodia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Cameroon ✔ Canada ✔ ✔ Cape Verde ✔ Central African Republic ✔ Chad ✔ Chile ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ China ✔ Colombia ✔ ✔ Congo, Dem. Rep. ✔ ✔ Congo, Rep. ✔ Costa Rica ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Croatia ✔ ✔ Czech Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ Denmark ✔ ✔ ✔ Dominica ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Dominican Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Ecuador El Salvador ✔ ✔ ✔ Equatorial Guinea ✔ Estonia ✔ ✔ Ethiopia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Finland ✔ ✔ ✔ France ✔ Gabon ✔ Gambia, The ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Georgia ✔ Germany ✔ ✔ ✔ Ghana ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Greece ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Grenada ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Guatemala ✔ ✔ Guyana ✔ ✔ Haiti ✔ ✔ 62 Financial Access 2009 Table P1 Documentation required to open an account continued Proof of Exception from identity through Proof of requirements government- identity Proof of for low-income issued through any nationality/legal Proof of Proof of Proof of applicants or Country identification identification status in country address income employment small accounts Honduras Hong Kong, China ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Hungary ✔ ✔ ✔ India ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Indonesia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Iran ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Ireland ✔ ✔ ✔ Israel ✔ ✔ ✔ Italy ✔ Jamaica ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Japan ✔ ✔ Jordan ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Kazakhstan Kenya ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Korea, Rep. ✔ ✔ Kuwait ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Kyrgyz Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Lao PDR ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Latvia ✔ ✔ Lebanon Lesotho ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Lithuania ✔ ✔ ✔ Luxembourg ✔ Macedonia, FYR ✔ ✔ ✔ Madagascar ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Malawi ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Malaysia ✔ ✔ ✔ Policy tables Mauritania ✔ ✔ Mauritius ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mexico ✔ ✔ ✔ Moldova ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mongolia Montserrat ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Morocco ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mozambique ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Namibia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Nepal ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Netherlands ✔ New Zealand Nicaragua ✔ ✔ ✔ Norway ✔ ✔ Oman ✔ ✔ ✔ Pakistan ✔ Panama ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Papua New Guinea ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Paraguay ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Peru ✔ Philippines ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Poland Portugal ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Puerto Rico ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Romania ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Russian Federation ✔ ✔ ✔ Rwanda ✔ ✔ Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 63 Table P1 Documentation required to open an account continued Proof of Exception from identity through Proof of requirements government- identity Proof of for low-income issued through any nationality/legal Proof of Proof of Proof of applicants or Country identification identification status in country address income employment small accounts Serbia ✔ ✔ ✔ Singapore ✔ ✔ ✔ Slovak Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Slovenia South Africa ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Spain ✔ ✔ Sri Lanka ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ St. Kitts and Nevis ✔ ✔ St. Lucia St. Vincent & the Grenadines ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Swaziland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Sweden ✔ ✔ ✔ Switzerland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Syrian Arab Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Taiwan, China ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Tajikistan ✔ ✔ Tanzania ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Thailand ✔ Tunisia ✔ ✔ ✔ Turkey ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Uganda Ukraine ✔ ✔ ✔ United Kingdom United States ✔ ✔ ✔ Uruguay ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Uzbekistan Venezuela, RB ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Vietnam ✔ ✔ ✔ Yemen, Rep. ✔ ✔ ✔ Zambia ✔ ✔ Zimbabwe ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Source: Financial Access database. 64 Financial Access 2009 Table P2 Policies to promote savings Offer basic or Encourage recipients of low-fee account for government transfers Matched savings Tax incentive Country low-income clients to open accounts schemes savings scheme Afghanistan Albania Algeria ✔ ✔ Angola ✔ Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina ✔ ✔ Armenia Australia ✔ ✔ Austria Azerbaijan ✔ Bangladesh Belarus Belgium ✔ ✔ ✔ Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil ✔ ✔ Bulgaria Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile ✔ ✔ ✔ Policy tables China ✔ Colombia ✔ ✔ ✔ Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. Costa Rica ✔ ✔ Croatia ✔ Czech Republic ✔ ✔ Denmark ✔ Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador ✔ ✔ El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Estonia ✔ ✔ ✔ Ethiopia Finland ✔ ✔ ✔ France ✔ ✔ Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana ✔ Greece Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti ✔ ✔ ✔ Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 65 Table P2 Policies to promote savings continued Offer basic or Encourage recipients of low-fee account for government transfers Matched savings Tax incentive Country low-income clients to open accounts schemes savings scheme Honduras ✔ ✔ ✔ Hong Kong, China ✔ Hungary ✔ ✔ ✔ India ✔ ✔ Indonesia Iran ✔ Ireland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Israel ✔ ✔ Italy ✔ Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya ✔ Korea, Rep. Kuwait Kyrgyz Republic Lao PDR Latvia ✔ Lebanon Lesotho Lithuania ✔ ✔ ✔ Luxembourg ✔ ✔ Macedonia, FYR Madagascar ✔ ✔ Malawi Malaysia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mauritania Mauritius Mexico ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Moldova Mongolia ✔ Montserrat Morocco ✔ ✔ ✔ Mozambique Namibia ✔ ✔ Nepal ✔ Netherlands New Zealand ✔ ✔ ✔ Nicaragua Norway ✔ Oman Pakistan ✔ ✔ Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru ✔ ✔ Philippines Poland ✔ Portugal ✔ Puerto Rico ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Romania Russian Federation Rwanda 66 Financial Access 2009 Table P2 Policies to promote savings continued Offer basic or Encourage recipients of low-fee account for government transfers Matched savings Tax incentive Country low-income clients to open accounts schemes savings scheme Serbia Singapore ✔ ✔ ✔ Slovak Republic Slovenia ✔ ✔ South Africa Spain ✔ ✔ Sri Lanka St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent & the Grenadines Swaziland Sweden ✔ ✔ Switzerland ✔ Syrian Arab Republic ✔ Taiwan, China ✔ ✔ Tajikistan Tanzania ✔ Thailand Tunisia Turkey ✔ ✔ Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom ✔ United States ✔ ✔ Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela, RB ✔ Policy tables Vietnam Yemen, Rep. Zambia Zimbabwe ✔ ✔ Source: Financial Access database. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 67 Table P3 Transparency and consumer protection Rate and fee limits Disclosure Change in terms Limit on Effective Debit/credit Reasons for unfavorable Plain language Limit on Limit on maximum interest rate account denial of to account requirement maximum maximum late maintenance on loans must fees must be loan must be holder must must be Country interest rate payment penalty fees be disclosed disclosed disclosed be disclosed disclosed Afghanistan Albania ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Algeria ✔ ✔ ✔ Angola Anguilla ✔ Antigua and Barbuda ✔ Argentina ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Armenia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Australia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Austria ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Azerbaijan ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Bangladesh ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Belarus ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Belgium ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Bolivia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Bosnia and Herzegovina ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Botswana ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Brazil Bulgaria ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Cape Verde ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Central African Republic Chad Chile ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ China ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Colombia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Congo, Dem. Rep. ✔ ✔ Congo, Rep. Costa Rica ✔ ✔ ✔ Croatia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Czech Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Denmark ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Dominica ✔ Dominican Republic ✔ ✔ Ecuador ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ El Salvador ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Equatorial Guinea Estonia ✔ ✔ ✔ Ethiopia Finland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ France ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Gabon Gambia, The ✔ ✔ ✔ Georgia ✔ ✔ ✔ Germany ✔ ✔ ✔ Ghana ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Greece ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Grenada ✔ Guatemala ✔ ✔ Guyana Haiti ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 68 Financial Access 2009 Table P3 Transparency and consumer protection continued Rate and fee limits Disclosure Change in terms Limit on Effective Debit/credit Reasons for unfavorable Plain language Limit on Limit on maximum interest rate account denial of to account requirement maximum maximum late maintenance on loans must fees must be loan must be holder must must be Country interest rate payment penalty fees be disclosed disclosed disclosed be disclosed disclosed Honduras ✔ ✔ ✔ Hong Kong, China ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Hungary ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ India ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Indonesia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Iran ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Ireland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Israel ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Italy ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Jamaica ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Japan ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Jordan ✔ Kazakhstan Kenya Korea, Rep. ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Kuwait ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Kyrgyz Republic ✔ ✔ Lao PDR ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Latvia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Lebanon Lesotho Lithuania ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Luxembourg ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Macedonia, FYR ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Madagascar Malawi Malaysia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Policy tables Mauritania ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mauritius ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mexico ✔ ✔ Moldova ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mongolia ✔ ✔ ✔ Montserrat ✔ Morocco ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mozambique ✔ ✔ ✔ Namibia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Nepal ✔ ✔ ✔ Netherlands New Zealand ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Nicaragua ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Norway ✔ ✔ Oman ✔ ✔ Pakistan Panama ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Papua New Guinea Paraguay ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Peru ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Philippines ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Poland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Portugal ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Puerto Rico ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Romania Russian Federation ✔ ✔ ✔ Rwanda ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 69 Table P3 Transparency and consumer protection continued Rate and fee limits Disclosure Change in terms Limit on Effective Debit/credit Reasons for unfavorable Plain language Limit on Limit on maximum interest rate account denial of to account requirement maximum maximum late maintenance on loans must fees must be loan must be holder must must be Country interest rate payment penalty fees be disclosed disclosed disclosed be disclosed disclosed Serbia ✔ ✔ Singapore ✔ ✔ ✔ Slovak Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Slovenia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ South Africa ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Spain ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Sri Lanka St. Kitts and Nevis ✔ St. Lucia ✔ St. Vincent & the Grenadines ✔ Swaziland ✔ ✔ ✔ Sweden ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Switzerland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Syrian Arab Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ Taiwan, China ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Tajikistan ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Tanzania ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Thailand ✔ ✔ ✔ Tunisia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Turkey ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Uganda Ukraine ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ United Kingdom United States ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Uruguay ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Uzbekistan Venezuela, RB ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Vietnam Yemen, Rep. Zambia ✔ ✔ ✔ Zimbabwe ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Source: Financial Access database. 70 Financial Access 2009 Table P4 Branch banking regulations Supervisor approval Branches must operate Exceptions from Mobile needed to open a minimum number of requirements of bank branches Country new branch working days per week security for poor areas permitted Afghanistan ✔ ✔ Albania ✔ ✔ Algeria Angola Anguilla ✔ ✔ ✔ Antigua and Barbuda ✔ ✔ ✔ Argentina ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Armenia ✔ ✔ ✔ Australia ✔ Austria ✔ Azerbaijan ✔ Bangladesh ✔ ✔ ✔ Belarus ✔ Belgium Bolivia ✔ ✔ ✔ Bosnia and Herzegovina ✔ ✔ Botswana ✔ ✔ ✔ Brazil ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Bulgaria ✔ Burundi ✔ ✔ Cambodia ✔ Cameroon ✔ ✔ Canada Cape Verde ✔ Central African Republic ✔ ✔ Chad ✔ ✔ Chile ✔ ✔ ✔ Policy tables China ✔ ✔ ✔ Colombia ✔ Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. ✔ ✔ Costa Rica ✔ Croatia ✔ Czech Republic ✔ Denmark ✔ Dominica ✔ ✔ Dominican Republic ✔ ✔ Ecuador ✔ ✔ El Salvador ✔ ✔ Equatorial Guinea ✔ ✔ Estonia ✔ Ethiopia ✔ Finland ✔ France ✔ Gabon ✔ ✔ Gambia, The ✔ ✔ Georgia ✔ Germany ✔ Ghana ✔ Greece ✔ ✔ Grenada ✔ ✔ ✔ Guatemala ✔ Guyana ✔ ✔ Haiti ✔ Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 71 Table P4 Branch banking regulations continued Supervisor approval Branches must operate Exceptions from Mobile needed to open a minimum number of requirements of bank branches Country new branch working days per week security for poor areas permitted Honduras ✔ Hong Kong, China ✔ Hungary India ✔ ✔ Indonesia ✔ ✔ Iran ✔ ✔ ✔ Ireland ✔ Israel ✔ ✔ Italy ✔ Jamaica ✔ ✔ Japan Jordan ✔ ✔ ✔ Kazakhstan Kenya ✔ ✔ Korea, Rep. Kuwait ✔ ✔ ✔ Kyrgyz Republic Lao PDR ✔ ✔ Latvia Lebanon ✔ Lesotho ✔ Lithuania Luxembourg ✔ Macedonia, FYR ✔ Madagascar ✔ Malawi ✔ ✔ ✔ Malaysia ✔ ✔ Mauritania ✔ ✔ Mauritius ✔ ✔ ✔ Mexico ✔ ✔ Moldova ✔ Mongolia ✔ ✔ Montserrat ✔ ✔ ✔ Morocco ✔ Mozambique ✔ ✔ Namibia ✔ ✔ ✔ Nepal ✔ ✔ Netherlands New Zealand ✔ Nicaragua ✔ Norway ✔ Oman ✔ ✔ ✔ Pakistan ✔ ✔ ✔ Panama ✔ ✔ Papua New Guinea ✔ ✔ Paraguay ✔ Peru ✔ ✔ ✔ Philippines ✔ ✔ ✔ Poland ✔ Portugal Puerto Rico ✔ ✔ ✔ Romania ✔ Russian Federation ✔ ✔ Rwanda ✔ ✔ 72 Financial Access 2009 Table P4 Branch banking regulations continued Supervisor approval Branches must operate Exceptions from Mobile needed to open a minimum number of requirements of bank branches Country new branch working days per week security for poor areas permitted Serbia Singapore ✔ Slovak Republic Slovenia ✔ South Africa ✔ Spain ✔ ✔ Sri Lanka ✔ ✔ St. Kitts and Nevis ✔ ✔ ✔ St. Lucia ✔ ✔ ✔ St. Vincent & the Grenadines ✔ ✔ ✔ Swaziland ✔ Sweden ✔ Switzerland ✔ ✔ Syrian Arab Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Taiwan, China ✔ ✔ Tajikistan ✔ Tanzania ✔ ✔ ✔ Thailand ✔ ✔ ✔ Tunisia Turkey ✔ ✔ Uganda ✔ Ukraine United Kingdom United States ✔ ✔ ✔ Uruguay ✔ ✔ ✔ Uzbekistan Venezuela, RB Policy tables Vietnam ✔ ✔ Yemen, Rep. Zambia ✔ ✔ ✔ Zimbabwe ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Source: Financial Access database. Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 73 Table P5 Using existing retail networks to provide financial services Services provided by agents Private Banks can Evaluate operators can formally Receive and Receive Pay credit and provide financial contract forward Open accounts payments for Accept funds withdrawals Receive and approve loan Collect loan services at companies as applications to on behalf taxes, utilities, for deposits to from client forward loan requests on payments on Country post offices banking agents open accounts of bank and the like client accounts accounts requests behalf of bank behalf of bank Afghanistan Albania ✔ Algeria Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Austria ✔ ✔ ✔ Azerbaijan Bangladesh Belarus ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Belgium ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Bolivia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Bulgaria ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Central African Republic Chad Chile ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ China Colombia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. Costa Rica Croatia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Czech Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Estonia Ethiopia Finland ✔ France ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany ✔ Ghana Greece ✔ Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti 74 Financial Access 2009 Table P5 Using existing retail networks to provide financial services continued Services provided by agents Private Banks can Evaluate operators can formally Receive and Receive Pay credit and provide financial contract forward Open accounts payments for Accept funds withdrawals Receive and approve loan Collect loan services at companies as applications to on behalf taxes, utilities, for deposits to from client forward loan requests on payments on Country post offices banking agents open accounts of bank and the like client accounts accounts requests behalf of bank behalf of bank Honduras ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Hong Kong, China Hungary ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ India ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Indonesia ✔ ✔ Iran Ireland ✔ Israel Italy Jamaica ✔ Japan ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Korea, Rep. Kuwait Kyrgyz Republic ✔ ✔ ✔ Lao PDR Latvia ✔ Lebanon Lesotho ✔ Lithuania ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Luxembourg ✔ Macedonia, FYR ✔ ✔ ✔ Madagascar ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Malawi ✔ Malaysia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Policy tables Mauritania ✔ ✔ Mauritius ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mexico ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Moldova Mongolia Montserrat Morocco ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Mozambique Namibia Nepal Netherlands ✔ New Zealand ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Nicaragua ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Norway ✔ ✔ ✔ Oman Pakistan ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Panama Papua New Guinea ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Paraguay Peru ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Philippines ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Poland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Portugal ✔ ✔ Puerto Rico Romania ✔ ✔ ✔ Russian Federation ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Rwanda Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World 75 Table P5 Using existing retail networks to provide financial services continued Services provided by agents Private Banks can Evaluate operators can formally Receive and Receive Pay credit and provide financial contract forward Open accounts payments for Accept funds withdrawals Receive and approve loan Collect loan services at companies as applications to on behalf taxes, utilities, for deposits to from client forward loan requests on payments on Country post offices banking agents open accounts of bank and the like client accounts accounts requests behalf of bank behalf of bank Serbia ✔ ✔ ✔ Singapore ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Slovak Republic ✔ Slovenia ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ South Africa ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Spain ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Sri Lanka ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent & the Grenadines Swaziland ✔ Sweden ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Switzerland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, China Tajikistan ✔ ✔ Tanzania ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Thailand ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Tunisia Turkey Uganda ✔ ✔ Ukraine ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ United Kingdom ✔ United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela, RB Vietnam ✔ Yemen, Rep. 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