Branchless and mobile banking could become the most common ways for poor people to get financial services by the year 2020 according to the recent “Scenarios for Branchless Banking in 2020” report from CGAP and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).The report models four scenarios, all of which indicate the use of branchless banking services will increase over the next ten years. Regarding the current state of the sub-sector, report co-author Mark Pickens says, “We were able to identify only a few providers who are using mainly branchless channels and who meet two criteria: serving more than a million active low-end clients and making a profit from doing so.” Future growth is expected to be driven by greater numbers of younger consumers coming into the market, encouragement from “activist governments,” security concerns about cash and lower costs enabled by internet browsing via mobile phones.

Sources and resources:

Complete paper “Scenarios for Branchless Banking in 2020”:

http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.40599/

Paper summary:

http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.26.12247/

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor):

http://www.cgap.org/

UK Department for International Development (DFID):

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/