A real
opportunity
for progress

Today 1.7 billion adults (including 1 billion women) in Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia, and certain parts of Europe and North America representing 35% of the world's adult population, have no bank accounts and are thus excluded from the global digital economy.

These people are currently out of the reach of global brands and merchants, despite the fact that they are one of the most desirable demographics because of their untapped purchasing power estimated at over €5 trillion in annual purchasing power.

The vast majority of the 1.7 billion unbanked live in emerging countries but the Western economies are not spared with 25% of the US households being unbanked or underbanked according to the FDIC. The unbanked population is incredibly diverse with half of them coming from the 40% poorest households and the other half coming from the 60% wealthiest households in their respective economies. Most of them own a mobile phone.

The unbanked profile reflects the diversity of the reasons for these people to be unbanked including, a limited trust in financial institutions and the high cost and delays associated with traditional financial tools.

According to McKinsey, enabling the financial inclusion of the unbanked and underbanked in the developing world would lead to an increase of about €4 Trillion in their GDP and the creation of an additional €100 trillion in financial assets.