ISLAMABAD: A majority of population in Pakistan have no access to financial services, says an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report on the country.
According to the report, Pakistan’s population of 241 million consists of 60% adults, and there are 91 million individual financial institution accounts in the country.
A large number of the adult population does not have access to formal financial services. There has been a rapid growth in financial services in Pakistan in the past 15 years. The growth was robust – 127% – from 2019 to 2024.
Only 21% population has bank account or access to a mobile money transaction. Many people rely on informal networks for financial transactions.
The ADB said in the report that digital finance provides a great opportunity to fill this gap. Digital finance enables faster, safer and more accessible transactions.
The report stated that women’s access to banking facilities is half that of men.
