World Bank: Over half of Filipinos now have financial accounts

MANILA, Philippines — More than half of Filipino adults have financial accounts as of last year, down slightly from 2021, according to the World Bank.

The Global Findex 2025 report released by the multilateral lender showed that 50 percent of adults in the Philippines had accounts at a bank, mobile money service provider or other financial institution last year.

This figure is slightly lower than the 51 percent that had accounts in 2021, based on previous edition of the Global Findex report.

By account type, 34 percent of Filipinos have a bank account last year, while 29 percent have a mobile money account.

About 33 percent have access to a digitally enabled account using a card or mobile phone.

“More than 20 percent of adults saved using a mobile money account in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand,” the World Bank said.

World Bank data also showed that over half or  57 percent of women in the Philippines have financial accounts last year.

The share of poor Filipinos with access to the same was at 34 percent.

Globally, nearly 80 percent of adults have a financial account, up from 50 percent in 2011.

With some adults still lacking access to financial services, the World Bank said mobile phones could help close the gap.

The World Bank said  86 percent of adults owned a mobile phone, including 68 percent of adults with a smartphone last year.

In the Philippines, 78 percent have a personal mobile phone, including 69 percent that own a smartphone.

Across all developing countries, the World Bank said more adults are using mobile phones or cards to pay merchants.

In particular, 42 percent of adults made an in-store or online digital merchant payment last year, up from 35 percent in 2021.

In the Philippines, the share of adults that made or received digital payments declined to 40 percent last year from 44 percent in 2021.

The World Bank said more than half of Filipinos that make online purchases use cash on delivery as a payment option.

While mobile phones are helping bring progress, the World Bank said dedicated financial inclusion efforts remain critical.

To reach those without accounts, primarily women and poor adults, the World Bank said focused and context-appropriate initiatives would be needed.

The multilateral lender said developing programs to improve financial health would also be necessary to effectively mitigate sources of financial worry and increase financial resilience.