New analysis by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the World Bank revealed that poor, lesseducated and unemployed people are more likely to obtain financial services from a post office than
a bank or other financial institution.The global study ‘Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office’ shows the potential ofpostal operators to further financial inclusion of less privileged people through theirgeographical reach and size of their networks and to boost account ownership. The study waspresented during the UPU’s global forum on financial inclusion for development that took place inGeneva, Switzerland, last week.
The report compared people with an account at a financial institution or both a financialinstitution and a post office to those having an account at the post office only. It came out thatthe latter tend to be significantly poorer, older, less educated and less likely to beemployed.
In developing countries that offer postal financial services, only 44% of the adults have anaccount either at the post, at a bank or both, compared to 90% of the population in high-incomeeconomies.
“In a concentrated number of developing and emerging countries, like Brazil, India, China,Morocco or South Africa, there is strong evidence to prove that the postal network has largelycontributed to bringing people into the financial fold,” UPU economist José Anson, said. “The thingis, this postal network exists in other developing countries, too, but it is underused. Policychoices are at the heart of this discrepancy, and countries wanting to facilitate financialinclusion should pay attention.”
The findings of the new study are based on interviews with 150,000 adults in nearly 150countries, as part of the 2011 Gallup World Poll for the World Bank’s Global Financial InclusionDatabase. The results were further refined through an analysis of 65,000 people in 60 countriesoffering postal banking services to determine the type of clients post offices reach, compared totraditional financial institutions.
Leading economists who worked on the paper highlighted the value of the unique global profile ofwho uses postal financial services that the study presents for policy makers. “Our findings help usbetter understand who banks at post offices around the world and help develop a deeper and morenuanced understanding of how these can increase financial inclusion,” Leora Klapper, lead economistat the World Bank’s research department, said. “The data suggests that post offices can play aleading role in providing financial services to segments of the population that are particularlylikely to be financially excluded.”
“As the economies of developing countries increasingly grow, governments can leverage the postalnetwork to distribute social payments to their populations,” Anson added. “Investing in anextended, more modern postal network could be an essential part of a country’s national policy tofoster financial inclusion.”
