The World Bank Group released the Global Findex 2025 report, finding that financial inclusion and the use of formal saving channels have accelerated across low- and middle-income economies, with mobile-phone-enabled financial services playing a central role. In developing economies, 40% of adults saved in a financial account in 2024, a 16 percentage point increase since 2021 and the fastest rise in more than a decade. The share of adults using a mobile-money account to save reached 10%, up 5 percentage points from 2021. Globally, nearly 80% of adults now have a financial account, up from 50% in 2011, although 1.3 billion adults remain unbanked, including about 900 million who have a mobile phone (530 million with smartphones). The report also points to a narrowing gender gap in account ownership (77% of women versus 81% of men globally) and highlights operational and risk considerations alongside uptake, including wider use of digital merchant payments in low- and middle-income countries (42% in 2024 versus 35% in 2021) and basic device-security gaps, with only around half of mobile-phone owners in low- and middle-income economies using a password to protect their phone.
World Bank 2025-07-16
World Bank publishes Global Findex 2025 showing mobile money is driving the fastest rise in formal saving in a decade
The World Bank Group's Global Findex 2025 report highlights accelerated financial inclusion and formal saving in low- and middle-income economies, driven by mobile financial services. In 2024, 40% of adults in developing economies saved in a financial account, with mobile-money account usage for saving reaching 10%. The report also notes a narrowing gender gap in account ownership and increased digital merchant payments, while identifying security gaps in mobile protection.