South African market ranks second in affordable financial services top - report

As of 2014, about 75% of South African adults had bank accounts and 5% used non-bank financial products, according to The 2015 Brookings Financial and Digital Inclusion Project (FDIP) Report and Scorecard issued by the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings, mobilemoneyafrica.com reports. ATM and debit cards were more common, with 34% of the banked population owning a South African Social Security MasterCard.

South Africa earned 80% and was ranked number 12 for country commitment, number one for mobile capacity, number 17 for regulatory environment and number three for adoption. It also received the highest score for formal account penetration, including among rural, low-income and female groups. South Africas mobile capacity was strong, with the percentage of unique subscribers comprising about 70% of the population and about 96% 3G mobile network coverage by population.

Initiatives to digitise government transfers, along with the countrys quite extensive banking infrastructure, supported financial inclusion. According to estimates from a recent Imperial College and Citi report, a 10% increase in the digital money readiness and commensurate increase in adoption for the countries included in the index, can help up to an estimated 220 million individuals enter the formal financial sector. This translates to an additional $1- trillion (R13.15-trillion) moving from the informal economy to the formal economy, the source cites.

The report, which highlights that financial inclusion has become a top priority for South Africa, evaluates 21 countries and examines broad dimensions relevant to financial inclusion, such as country commitment, mobile capacity, regulatory environment and adoption of traditional and digital financial services.