MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Releases 2014 Financial Access Survey (FAS)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), a US-based organisation that is part of the United Nations, has released the results of its 2014 Financial Access Survey (FAS), a publication that provides data and analysis on financial inclusion around the world. FAS includes data from commercial banks, credit unions, insurance corporations, microfinance institutions and other financial institutions on three topics: basic consumer services offerings, such as the number of automatic teller machines (ATMs) or commercial bank branches per 1,000 square kilometers; usage of financial services, including the number of outstanding deposits and loans; and the acceptance and usage of mobile money services.

IMF has added this data to its FAS database, which contains financial inclusion statistics on 189 countries over a ten-year period (2004 – 2013) with 47 indicators classified into two categories, the geographic outreach of financial services and the use of these services.

The report states that there is a positive correlation between financial inclusion and a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), as demonstrated by the five-fold increase in deposits in Africa from 2004 to 2013 and the simultaneous 40-percent growth in the continent’s GDP per capita. IMF also reports that mobile money services have increased financial inclusion for individuals who are unable to access the traditional banking system. Deposits through mobile money services in Kenya surpassed the number of commercial bank deposits in 2009, and transactions using mobiles in Kenya increased from 5.5 million in 2007 to 700 million in 2013.

The 2014 FAS was supported financially by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organisation that provides grants with the aim of reducing poverty worldwide.

As of January 2014, IMF had total assets of SDR 303 billion (USD 646 billion). As of July 2013, the Gates Foundation had a total endowment of USD 36.4 billion, 1,100 employees and operations in approximately 100 countries. The organization has awarded USD 26.1 billion in grants since its inception in 1999.

By Simon Pfanner, Research Associate

About the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), part of the United Nations, is an organization with 188 member countries and territories working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, boost employment, promote sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty around the world. IMF was created after the Second World War to oversee the international monetary system, promote exchange rate stability and encourage members to eliminate exchange restrictions that hinder trade. As of January 2014, the IMF had total assets of SDR 303 billion (USD 646 billion).

About the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Launched in 1994, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a US-based nonprofit organization that provides grants to organizations with the aim of enhancing health care, reducing poverty and expanding access to education and information technology. The foundation’s “Financial Services for the Poor” initiative focuses on providing people with secure places to save money. To support this initiative, the foundation works with financial organizations to increase access to technology and to forge partnerships among mobile phone companies, banks and microfinance institutions. As of July 2013, the gates foundation had a total endowment of USD 36.4 billion, 1,100 employees and operations in approximately 100 countries. It has awarded USD 26.1 billion in grants since its inception in 1999.

Sources and Additional Resources

[1] IMF Press Release, IMF’s 2014 Financial Access Survey Helps to Map Global Financial Inclusion

MicroCapital, October 12, 2014, International Finance Corporation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Provide $3.9m in Advisory Services to Airtel Uganda to Expand Mobile Money

MicroCapital, November 10, 2013, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Releases 2013 Financial Access Survey

MicroCapital, July 12, 2010, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Launches Online Database of Access Indicators

MicroCapital Universe Profile: International Monetary Fund

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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