More women have financial accounts, yet equal access and use remain works in progress

Women's financial inclusion is experiencing a remarkable transformation. The Global Findex 2025 report finds that as of 2024, 73% of women in low- and middle-income economies (LMICs) have a financial account, a 7-percentage point increase from 2021. 

Account ownership can unlock access to financial products. The latest round of the Global Findex finds that across LMICs more women are using accounts to save formally (36% in 2024, up from 22% in 2021) and make or receive digital payments (58% from 50%), including making digital merchant payments (38% from 32%).

But behind these gains lies a persistent challenge: about 700 million women worldwide still do not have a financial account, precluding them from using financial services and harnessing them for greater financial health and resilience. In this blog we look beyond the headline numbers to explore how to reach these remaining women and leverage digital financial services to improve women’s financial lives. 

Barriers to women’s account ownership persist…

Understanding barriers to account ownership can help uncover opportunities to reach unbanked women. On average across developing countries, not having enough money to open an account was the most frequently cited barrier among women without an account, followed by the cost of financial service fees and a family member already having an account. Using a family member’s account is particularly prevalent in Latin America and the Caribbean, where account fees are high, making it less affordable to have more than one account per household. Distance to a branch or mobile money agent is another common barrier.

…but phones and mobile money are changing the game

Mobile connectivity and digital accounts can help overcome the barriers of cost and distance. Accounts that can be accessed digitally allow owners to use their financial accounts whenever and wherever they need. 

Currently, more than half of women with accounts in LMICs have a digitally enabled account, meaning that they can be accessed via a card or a phone. With about 80% of women in developing economies owning a mobile phone, digitally enabled accounts make it easier and more convenient for them to use their accounts.

Mobile money accounts are one type of digitally enabled account popular in Sub-Saharan Africa and Bangladesh – these accounts can be used with a basic mobile phone and often have lower fees than traditional bank accounts. In Sub-Saharan Africa, women are 12 percentage points less likely than men to have any type of account, yet they are equally likely to exclusively own a mobile money account, suggesting that the technology can offer particular benefits to women.

The growing prevalence of digitally enabled accounts points to mobile phones as powerful enablers of account ownership. Yet among the 48% of women who remain unbanked in Sub-Saharan Africa, only half own a mobile phone, suggesting that efforts to promote account ownership should coincide with those to improve mobile connectivity. 

Digital payments also play a powerful role in account access, creating incentives for recipients to both own and use accounts. Around 60% of women with a bank or similar account in LMICs opened their first account to receive a payment directly into it (i.e., digitally) from their government or from a private sector employer. Currently, 10% of unbanked women in LMICs receive either a wage or government payment, pointing to an opportunity to bring these women into the formal financial system.

Looking beyond account ownership: unlocking opportunities for women

Financial inclusion only starts with account ownership – women must use their accounts to experience the benefits and build financial health. Available services may not be serving women’s needs, resulting in lagging use. For instance, among adults with accounts, women are less likely than men to save formally, borrow formally, and make digital payments. While there are not significant differences in the shares of men and women borrowing to start or operate a business, very few do so.  Only 9% of women borrow to start or operate a business, and among them, just half access formal sources of credit. To help address this constraint, the World Bank Group has set a goal to provide capital to 80 million women and women-led businesses by 2030.

Overall, women in LMICs are less likely than men to say they could access extra money without difficulty to weather an unexpected financial event, like a loss of income or damage to an asset, and are more likely to turn to less reliable sources of money like family and friends. Owning an account and using it has the potential to improve resilience, particularly regarding savings – by saving using an account, women can be assured that their money will be available when they need it.

The progress in women’s financial access, as indicated by the Global Findex 2025, is a hopeful sign. Yet the work continues to ensure every woman who wants a financial account has access to one – and can use it to her full advantage. 

If you want to learn more about how women are faring in a specific country, country-level insights into financial and digital inclusion are now available in the newly released Country Gender Data Landscapes. You can access the full Findex dataset here, explore all gender-disaggregated Findex indicators on the Gender Data Portal, and find the full respondent-level dataset in the Microdata Library.