Whither Financial Inclusion? Performance of Bangladesh in the 2017 Global Findex

Abstract

On April 19, 2018, the third Global Findex Database was released by the World Bank at the Bank’s Spring Meetings. According to CGAP, this dataset is “the financial inclusion community’s best demand-side measure of financial inclusion globally.” Overall, the dataset points to an increasingly inclusive financial world that is also transitioning to a digital economy. Bangladesh, too, made impressive gains in certain yardsticks for financial inclusion based on this dataset. For instance, the share of people with financial accounts increased from 29 percent to 41 percent, in three years. However, financial inclusion yardsticks should go beyond opening of bank and financial accounts and also encompass usage of accounts. It is only when people are actively using their accounts will we have meaningful financial inclusion.