Pakistan

Pakistanis have intricate financial lives, mainly relying on unregulated, informal mechanisms to address their financial needs. Pakistan is one of the largest unbanked countries in the world, with only 14% of all adults being financially included. Although the nascent mobile money industry has enabled thousands of poor Pakistanis to remit cash and pay bills with ease, banks still lead the way in account registration. Between 2013 and 2017, bank account holders grew by 4 percentage points. Today, almost eight in 10 Pakistanis (76%) are aware of a mobile money provider; mobile money users remain largely OTC users, who grew by 4 percentage points between 2016 and 2017 while only four percent have registered accounts. Turning awareness to use will position the country to make leaps in financial inclusion.

Financial Inclusion

Total Financially Included
Financial Inclusion Breakdown By Accounts
Account Ownership By Year

Mobile Phone Ownership

Total Population
By Gender
90% of gainfully employed adults in Pakistan are men.

Mobile Money Use

Total Population
By Gender
71% of mobile money users are over-the-counter users, meaning they do not have their own accounts.

Which demographic group is least likely to be active financial account users?

A. Rural
B. Below the poverty line
C. Women
D. Urban
Women (6%)

Which form of financial service contributes most to financial inclusion in Pakistan?

A. Banks
B. Mobile money
C. Non-bank financial institutions
A. Banks (11%)

Which demographic group is most likely to be financially included?

A. Urban
B. Above poverty line
C. Rural
D. Male
D. Male (20%)

More mobile money users are using the services for advanced functions than in previous year.

True (39% in 2017 to 30% in 2016 )

True or false

Most mobile money users in Pakistan are registered account holders.

False (29% of mobile money users are account holders, rest are OTC users)

True or false

SIM card holders are more likely to be aware of their own mobile operator’s mobile money product than a competitor’s.

False (Telenor Easy Paisa is the best-known product, regardless of SIM card ownership)