<!-- Start of picture text --> FIGURE 4.3<br>Self-reported barriers to use of an account at a financial institution<br>Adults without an account reporting barrier as a reason for not having one (%), 2014<br>Religious reasons Cited as only reason<br>Cited with other reasons<br>Lack of trust<br>Cannot get an account<br>Lack of necessary<br>documentation<br>Financial institutions<br>too far away<br>Accounts too expensive<br>Family member already<br>has an account<br>Do not need an account<br>Not enough money<br>0 10 20 30 40 50 60<br>Note: Respondents could choose more than one reason.<br>Source: Global Findex database.<br>2<br>THE GLOBAL FINDEX DATABASE 60<br><!-- End of picture text -->

# What are the self-reported barriers to account ownership?

Respondents were allowed to give multiple reasons for not having an account at a financial institution, and they cited 2.1 on average. Globally, the most common reason is lack of enough money to use an account: 59 percent of adults without an account identified this as a reason, and 16 percent cited it as the only reason (figure 4.3).

The next most common reasons are that the respondent has no need for an account and that a family member already has one. Each of these reasons was cited by about 30 percent of adults without an account. But only 4 percent cited having no need for an account as the only reason, and only 7 percent cited a family member’s ownership of an account as the only one. This suggests that once other barriers to account ownership are reduced—such as the cost of opening and maintaining an account or the distance to financial institutions’ outlets—these respondents might be interested in having an account.

The other reasons reported (in declining order of frequency) are accounts being too expensive, financial institutions being too far way, lack of necessary documents, inability to get an account, lack of trust in financial institutions, and religious reasons.<sup>2</sup> Lack of enough money is the most commonly reported barrier to account ownership not only globally but also in almost all developing regions. The one exception is Europe and Central Asia, where the most commonly cited reason is no need for an account; this was reported by 55 percent of those without an account at a financial institution, though only 10 percent reported it as their only reason for not having one. Lack of enough money is the second most common reason in that region, cited by 51 percent.

Beyond lack of enough money, self-reported reasons for not having an account at a financial institution vary widely across economies and regions. In East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia the second most common reason, cited by about 35 percent of adults without an account, is that a family member already has one. In both regions women were 6 percentage points more likely than men to cite this reason.

In Sub-Saharan Africa distance to financial institutions is the second most common reason, cited by 27 percent of those without an account.

In the Middle East 41 percent of adults without an account said that they cannot get one. But virtually no one reported this as the only reason for not having an account. This suggests that other factors, such as cost or documentation requirements, may be the actual barrier to account ownership.