World's unbanked numbers decrease

There has been a massive drop in the number of unbanked individuals since 2011, according a recent report by the World Bank.

The findings come in the latest edition of the Global Findex to be released this morning.

According to the report, between 2011 and 2014 700 million people became account holders at banks, other financial institutions, or mobile money service providers, and the number of "unbanked" individuals dropped 20 per cent to 2 billion adults.

In a statement, World Bank group president Jim Yong Kim said access to financial services could "serve as a bridge out of poverty."

"We have set a hugely ambitious goal - universal financial access by 2020 - and now we have evidence that we're making major progress," he said.

"This effort will require many partners - credit card companies, banks, microcredit institutions, the United Nations, foundations, and community leaders. But we can do it, and the payoff will be millions of people lifted out of poverty."

The findings come in the latest edition of the Global Findex, the world's most comprehensive gauge of progress on financial inclusion.

The data in the report shows that between 2011 and 2014, the percentage of adults with an account increased from 51 per cent to 62 per cent, a trend driven by a 13 percentage point rise in account ownership in developing countries and the increasing use of technology.

In particular, mobile money accounts in Sub-Saharan Africa are helping to rapidly expand and scale up access to financial services. Along with these gains, the data also show big opportunities for boosting financial inclusion among women and poor people.

Financial inclusion, defined by the Global Findex as having an account that allows adults to store money and make and receive electronic payments, is critical to ending global poverty.

The report highlights that the gender gap in account ownership is not narrowing in any meaningful way. In 2011, 47 per cent of women and 54 per cent of men had an account; in 2014, 58 per cent of women had an account, compared to 65 per cent of men.

Regionally, the gender gap is largest in South Asia, where 37 per cent of women have an account, compared to 55 per cent of men.

The 2014 Findex found there is still more work to be done to expand financial inclusion among women and the poorest households. More than half of adults in the poorest 40 per cent of households in developing countries were still without accounts in 2014.