Glossary

Access to a bank – Counts individuals who have ever used a bank, or who have a bank account registered in their name or a joint account in their and someone else’s name.

Access to mobile money or an NBFI – Counts individuals who have ever used a mobile money service or a full-service NBFI.

Active registered user – An individual who has an account registered in their name with a full-service financial institution and has used it in the last 90 days.

Advanced user – An active registered user who has ever used their account for any of the following: saving, borrowing, insurance, investment, paying bills, receiving wages or government benefits. Buying airtime top-ups is considered an advanced use of a bank account or NBFI account but not a mobile money account.

Agent banking – Banking services provided outside of regular bank branches by engaged agents under a valid agency agreement, mainly intended to reach the underserved population.

Airtime – Minutes of talk time available on a mobile phone.

Basic use – Activities include cash-in (deposits) or cash-out (withdrawals), money transfers to another individual, or account maintenance. Buying airtime using mobile money is considered a basic use case.

Below the poverty line – In this particular study, adults living on less than $2.50 per day in 2005 purchasing power parity in USD, as classified by the Poverty Probability Index.

Confidence interval (95%) – The range of values within which the observed value of a statistic will be found in 95 out of 100 repeat measurements.

Cooperative – Typically, a business or other professional organization that is owned and run jointly by its members, who share profits or benefits. Cooperatives may release some of the profits/funds as loans to its members.

Credit-only nonbank financial institutions – Financial institutions that only disburse loans to their customers and are therefore not considered full service.

Customer journey – A series of progressive stages through which individuals become more active users of more sophisticated financial services. 

Digital financial inclusion –  Counts individuals who have an account in their name with a full-service financial institution that offers digital services (e.g., online account access, debit/ATM card, credit card, electronic cash transfers).

Digital financial services (DFS) – Financial services provided through an electronic platform (e.g., mobile phones, debit or credit electronic cards, and internet).

Digital stored-value account – A mobile money account or a full-service bank or NBFI account that offers digital services.

Financial inclusion – Individuals who hold an account with an institution that provides a full suite of financial services and comes under some form of government regulation.

Financial literacy – Basic knowledge of four fundamental concepts in financial decision-making (interest rates, interest compounding, inflation, and risk diversification) as measured by the Standard and Poor’s Rating Service’s Global Financial Literacy Survey.

Financial numeracy – The ability to read numerical place value and other key numeracy skills needed to complete a financial transaction on a mobile phone without assistance.

Full-service financial institutions – Financial institutions that offer loans to their customers and at least one of the following additional services: savings, money transfers, insurance, or investments.

Microfinance institution (MFI) – An organization that offers financial services to low-income populations. Almost all give loans to their members, and many offer insurance, deposit and other services.

Mobile money (MM) – A service that allows a mobile phone to be used for storing and transferring money, and, potentially, accessing other financial services.

Nonbank financial institution (NBFI) – A financial organization that is not formally licensed as a bank or a mobile money provider, but whose activities are regulated, at least to some extent, by the central bank within the country. Such financial institutions include microfinance institutions (MFIs), cooperatives and Post Office Banks.

Numeracy – The ability to use basic math skills, including counting, addition, division, multiplication and computing short- and long-term interest rates.

Post Office Bank – A bank that offers savings and money transfers and has branches at local post offices.

Poverty Probability Index (PPI) – A measurement tool wherein a set of country-specific survey questions are used to compute the likelihood that an individual’s income is below a specific threshold.

Registered user – Counts individuals who have a financial account registered in their name or registered jointly in their and someone else’s name.

Unregistered/over-the-counter (OTC) user – An individual who has used a financial service through someone else’s account, including a mobile money agent’s account or the account of a family member or a neighbor.

Urban/rural – Urban and rural persons are defined according to their residence in urban or rural areas as prescribed by the national bureau of statistics.

Village savings and loan association (VSLA) – A member-organized group that provides members with informal financial services such as savings, loans and insurance.