Financial Inclusion in Asia: An Overview

Despite economic growth, the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to disadvantaged and low-income segments of society remains an issue across Asia and the Pacific.

In terms of aggregate measures of financial development, the region as a whole has superior banking sector depth compared to other developing regions. However, this masks a great deal of variation across Asian economies. On financial inclusion, the most commonly reported barriers are cost, geographic access, and lack of identification.

This paper provides an analysis of financial development and inclusion in developing Asia using data from a wide array of sources.