WASHINGTON D.C.: Mobile-phone technology is fuelling a record rise in financial inclusion across low- and middle-income countries, leading to significant growth in formal savings, according to the World Bank Group’s newly released Global Findex 2025 report.
The data highlights a remarkable shift in how people in developing economies access and use financial services. In 2024, 40 percent of adults in these regions saved money in a formal financial account—a 16-percentage-point jump since 2021 and the fastest increase in over a decade. Notably, 10 percent now use mobile-money accounts to save, up from just 5 percent in 2021.
This progress is especially evident in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the percentage of adults saving formally rose by 12 points to reach 35 percent. In the Middle East and North Africa, account ownership jumped to 53 percent, while formal saving increased to 17 percent.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga stated, “Financial inclusion has the potential to improve lives and transform entire economies.” He emphasised that digital infrastructure, social protection systems, and modernised payment networks are key to this transformation.
Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation, echoed the optimism, saying, “More people than ever have the financial tools to invest in their futures and build economic resilience… It’s a proven path to unlocking opportunity for everyone.”
According to the Global Findex, nearly 80 percent of adults globally now have access to a financial account—up from just 50 percent in 2011. However, 1.3 billion adults still remain unbanked. Mobile phones present a crucial opportunity to bridge this gap, with 900 million of the unbanked owning a mobile device, including over 500 million with smartphones.
The report underscores how mobile technology is transforming financial behaviour, creating new economic pathways, and strengthening national financial systems by increasing available funds for investment and innovation.
