SL ahead in digital finance access, says WB report
- By KirshCNL
- July 22, 2025
- Banking and Financial, News, Political
- Digital Finance Access, SL, Word Bank
- 0 Comments
The Global Findex 2025 report by the World Bank highlights that Sri Lanka has performed better than many South Asian countries in providing access to bank accounts and digital payments.
According to the report, over 650 million adults globally still don’t have a financial account, and many lack access to mobile phones or digital financial services. More than half of the world’s unbanked population lives in just eight countries:Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
The report also points to a significant gender gap in financial access in several of these countries. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, for example, women are 20–30% less likely than men to have mobile accounts.
However, Sri Lanka shows a much smaller gender gap in terms of account ownership and mobile phone use. The report states that the gender difference in Sri Lanka is not statistically significant, which is a positive sign for equal financial access.
Still, the report notes that a gender gap in digital payment use remains. In Sri Lanka, as in other South Asian countries, fewer women use digital payments compared to men, with a gap of about 13 percentage points.
The report also notes that in some areas especially rural parts of Sri Lanka people still rely on basic mobile phones, which limits their ability to access digital financial services.
The Global Findex Database, launched in 2011, is the world’s most comprehensive source of data on how adults use financial services such as saving, borrowing, account ownership, and digital payments.
