How many people access financial institution accounts through a mobile phone?

While the use of stand-alone mobile money accounts is limited mostly to some Sub-Saharan African countries, even elsewhere people may be using mobile phones in conjunction with an account at a financial institution. Globally in 2014, 16 percent of adults with a financial institution account reported having used their mobile phone in the past year to access that account and make a transaction. High-income OECD and Sub-Saharan African economies had the largest shares who reported doing so, at just over 20 percent on average, followed by East Asia and the Pacific with 17 percent. In all other regions the average share was less than 10 percent.

GO TO BOX 1.5 Not surprisingly, using a mobile phone to access an account at a financial institution and make a transaction is particularly common in the 13 Sub-Saharan African countries with the highest penetration of mobile money accounts: in each of these countries close to 40 percent of adults with an account at a FIGURE 1.15 financial institution reported doing so. In some high-income OECD economies, including in selected countries Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Republic in the past year (as % of all adults), 2014 of Korea, Sweden, and the United States, 100 about a third of adults with an account at 75 a financial institution reported accessing it through a mobile phone (figure 1.15). 50 But a large share of account holders also reported doing so in the Russian Federation 25 (24 percent) and China (19 percent).

in selected countries in the past year (as % of all adults), 2014 <!-- Start of picture text --> 100<br>75<br>Used mobile phone<br>to access account<br>50<br>Did not use mobile<br>phone to access<br>25 account<br>Sweden Australia United Canada China Russian<br>States Federation<br>Source: Global Findex database.<br><!-- End of picture text --> How do people make direct electronic payments from financial institution accounts?

> FIGURE 1.16

Account holders can make direct electronic payments from their account at a financial institution in multiple ways. Three common ways are to use a debit card, a credit card, or a mobile phone (for a discussion of how widespread online payments are, see box 1.5). High-income OECD economies have by far the highest shares of people using each of these payment mechanisms—both among all adults and among account holders (figure 1.16). In these economies 65 percent of adults reported using a debit card in the past 12 months, 47 percent a credit card, and 21 percent a mobile phone to make direct electronic payments. And 77 percent of adults—82 percent of account holders—reported using at least one of the three payment mechanisms in the past year.

Adults using type of payment mechanism in the past year (%), 2014 <!-- Start of picture text --> Used debit card Has account at a<br>East Asia & Pacific Used credit cardUsed mobile phone to access account financial institution<br>Europe & Central Asia<br>High-income OECD economies<br>Latin America & Caribbean<br>Middle East<br>South Asia<br>Sub-Saharan Africa<br>0 20 40 60 80 100<br>Source: Global Findex database.<br><!-- End of picture text --> 21 THE GLOBAL FINDEX DATABASE