The Global Microscope 2019.The Enabling Environment for Financial Inclusion
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Global Microscope 2019 The enabling environment for financial inclusion Supported by GLOBAL MICROSCOPE 2019 1 The enabling environment for financial inclusion and the expansion of digital financial serv ices About this report The Global Microscope assesses the enabling environment for financial inclusion across 5 categories and 55 countries. In this 2019 edition, the EIU examines how countries are promoting financial inclusion for both women and men, 11 new gender-focused indicators have been added to the framework. The Microscope was originally developed for countries in the Latin American and Caribbean regions in 2007 and was expanded into a global study in 2009. Most of the research for this report, which included interviews and desk analysis, was conducted between June and September 2019. This work was supported by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, IDB Invest and IDB LAB. The complete index, as well as detailed country analysis, can be viewed on these websites: www.eiu.com/microscope2019 www.eiu.com/microscope https://publications.iadb.org https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/series/global-microscope Please use the following when citing this report: EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit), 2019; Global Microscope 2019: The enabling environment for financial inclusion; New York, NY. For further information, please contact: [email protected] © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2019 GLOBAL MICROSCOPE 2019 2 The enabling environment for financial inclusion and the expansion of digital financial serv ices About the Economist Intelligence Unit About IDB Lab The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is IDB Lab is the innovation laboratory of the the research arm of The Economist Group, IDB Group, the leading source of development publisher of The Economist. As the world’s finance and know-how for improving lives in leading provider of country intelligence, it Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The helps governments, institutions and businesses purpose of IDB Lab is to drive innovation for by providing timely, reliable and impartial inclusion in the region, by mobilizing financing, analysis of economic and development knowledge, and connections to co-create strategies. Through its public policy practice, solutions capable of transforming the lives of the EIU provides evidence-based research vulnerable populations affected by economic, for policymakers and stakeholders seeking social or environmental factors. Since 1993 IDB measureable outcomes, in fields ranging from Lab has approved more than US $2 billion in gender and finance to energy and technology. projects deployed across 26 LAC countries. As of It conducts research through interviews, October 29, 2018, IDB Lab is the new identity of regulatory analysis, quantitative modelling the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). and forecasting, and displays the results via www.idblab.org interactive data visualisation tools. Through a About the Center for Financial Inclusion at global network of more than 650 analysts and Accion contributors, the EIU continuously assesses and forecasts political, economic and business The Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion conditions in more than 200 countries. For more (CFI) is an action-oriented think tank that information, visit www.eiu.com engages and challenges the industry to better serve, protect, and empower clients. We About IDB Invest develop insights, advocate on behalf of clients, IDB Invest, the private sector institution of the and collaborate with stakeholders to achieve Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, a comprehensive vision for financial inclusion. is a multilateral development bank committed We are dedicated to enabling 3 billion people to supporting businesses in Latin America who are left out of—or poorly served by—the and the Caribbean. It finances sustainable financial sector to improve their lives. enterprises and projects to achieve financial www.centerforfinancialinclusion. results that maximize economic, social and org@CFI_Accion environmental development for the region. About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation With a current portfolio of $11.2 billion under management and 330 clients in 23 countries, The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation focuses on IDB Invest works across sectors to provide human development, from poverty to health, innovative financial solutions and advisory to education. The areas of focus offer the services that meet the evolving demands of its opportunity to dramatically improve the quality clients. As of November 2017, IDB Invest is the of life for billions of people. The Foundation trade name of the Inter-American Investment builds partnerships that bring together resources, Corporation. For more information visit expertise, and vision—working with the best www.idbinvest.org organisations around the globe to identify issues, find answers, and drive change. For more information, visit www.gatesfoundation.org © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2019 GLOBAL MICROSCOPE 2019 3 The enabling environment for financial inclusion and the expansion of digital financial serv ices Project teams Acknowledgements The Economist Intelligence Unit The following researchers, country analysts and Leo Abruzzese, Project Director: specialists contributed to this report. We thank [email protected] them for their contributions: Monica Ballesteros, Project Manager: Country analysis: [email protected] Diane Alarcon, Stephen Allen, Amila Desaram, Shubha Bharadwaj, Research Analyst: Waqas Rana, Jamie Hitchen, Meryem Kabbaj, Ankita Banerjea, Research Analyst Bernard Kennedy, MANAUS Consulting (Tamar Jennifer Wells, Marketing Executive: Benzaken Koosed, Bryn Philibert, Ana Philibert, [email protected]; Joel Levesque), Susana Martinez, MicroCredit +44(2)7 576 8224 Ratings International Ltd. (M-CRIL) (Sanjay Sinha, Sana Zehra, Gaurav Prateek, Shayandeep IDB LAB Chakraborty, Abhinav Soni, Paritosh Singh, Sergio Navajas, Senior Specialist: Sahib Sharma & Krishna Raj Pandey.), Andras [email protected]; Radnoti, David Ramirez, Nick Wolf. Gador Manzano, Communications Specialist: We also thank Ricardo Toranzo from the [email protected] Association of Supervisors of Banks of IDB Invest the Americas (ASBA) for facilitating the Terence Gallagher, Head of Financial Inclusion: questionnaire to regulators in Latin America and [email protected] the Caribbean. Ana Lucía Escudero, Communications Specialist: Model and report production: [email protected] Mike Kenny, Emma Ruckley, William Shallcross, Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion Nick Wolf. Mayada Elzoghbi,Managing Director Virginia Moore, Director, Communications: [email protected]; +1 202 393 5113 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Daniel Radcliffe, Deputy Director, Policy, Regulation, & Research: [email protected] Thao Hong, Policy Advocacy and Communications [email protected] Special thanks to Elisabeth Rhyne, former managing director of the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and a long-term partner of the Global Microscope team. © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2019 GLOBAL MICROSCOPE 2019 4 The enabling environment for financial inclusion and the expansion of digital financial serv ices Contents About this report 1 Project teams 3 Executive Summary 5 Key findings 5 Overall results 8 Introduction 9 Key findings 12 The overall enabling environment for financial inclusion has improved globally. Latin 12 America and the Caribbean remain the the region with the most conducive regulatory environment and infrastructure for financial inclusion. Countries continue to adopt financial inclusion strategies and incorporate digital 18 approaches to inclusion. Improved frameworks for digital financial services increase certainty for financial 18 innovators. Box 1. Basic enablers for digital financial inclusion 20 Cyber-security and privacy laws are evolving to respond to challenges in the digital era. 21 Box 2. Case study on Kenya’s indebtedness crisis from digital loans 23 Nearly all countries have created a financial literacy strategy, and most are implementing 24 activities to educate consumers. However, few focus on building financial capabilities. Gender-related findings 25 Men and women have similar legal requirements to open accounts in all but one of the 25 countries in the 2019 Microscope, but few governments actively collect data on women’s financial inclusion or include specific actions targeting women in national strategies. Box 3. Good practices from Chile 26 Practical impediments—such as access to ID, the Internet and mobile phones—limit 27 women’s ability to take advantage of growing digital channels for financial inclusion. Most countries need to achieve greater gender balance in top decision-making positions 27 at financial-sector regulators. Country summaries 29 Methodology 85 Appendix 1: Detailed scoring guidelines 95 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2019 GLOBAL MICROSCOPE 2019 5 The enabling environment for financial inclusion and the expansion of digital financial serv ices Executive summary The 2019 Global Microscope analyses the Key findings practices used by governments and regulators The overall enabling environment for around the world to increase financial inclusion financial inclusion has improved globally. among their populations. The index focuses Latin America remains the region with on the regulatory and policy environments the most conducive regulatory and policy exclusively and does not reflect financial environment