IN the Philippines, a country known for its tech-savvy population and incredibly high internet and mobile phone penetration, financial technology (fintech) is making significant inroads in driving financial inclusion, resulting in the provision of more affordable and accessible financial services to individuals and businesses that have been traditionally excluded from the formal financial services sector.
While a significant proportion of the Filipino population remains unbanked, progress has been made on improving financial inclusion in the last few years. According to the World Bank's Global Findex Database, in 2017, 34 percent of adults in the Philippines had a bank account, up from 31 percent in 2014. While more recent statistics are not available from the World Bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) latest Financial Inclusion Survey shows a dramatic increase in the percentage of the population holding a formal bank account, up to 56 percent in 2021.
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