64% Indians use banks

Ofover45,000Indianssurveyed between September 2016 and January 2017, as many as 63 per cent had a financial account of some kind, 64 per cent of all bank account users had used their account in the last 90 days precedingthesurvey, butonly12 percentusedanadvancedbank account service in 2016, according to Intermedia, a research organisation that conducts financial inclusion surveys across India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Thesurveyalsofoundgapsin bank account usage across gender and geography with 47 per cent males actively using bank accounts versus 33 per cent females, and 46 per cent urban Indian’sactivelyusingbanksversus 37 per cent of those who live in rural areas.

Use of banks in India is higherthaninothercountries: 64per cent of Indians used a bank account, comparedto19percent in Bangladesh, 30 per cent in Indonesia, 31 per cent in Kenya, 41 per cent in Nigeria and 9 per centinPakistan, accordingtothe survey.

As many as 68 per cent said they had access to a mobile phonewhileonly26percentsaid they had ever received or sent a textmessage, showingthatbasic cell phone usage — key to using mobile payment systems — is still low in India. In comparison, 85percenthadaccesstoamobile phoneinBangladesh, 80percent in Indonesia, 93 per cent in Kenya and Nigeria, and 77 per cent in Pakistan.

UseofmobilemoneyinIndia (whichdoesnotincludeservices suchasPaytm) isaboutthesame as that in Indonesia, with 1 per cent, andNigeria(2percent), but lowerascomparedtoBangladesh (40 per cent), Kenya (81 per cent) andPakistan(9percent), thesurvey found.