KARACHI: Three of every 10 adult Pakistanis are financially included, a measure that more than doubled between 2017 and 2022.

The recently released Kara­ndaaz Financial Inclusion Survey 2022 shows financial inclusion increased from 14pc in 2017 to 21 per cent in 2020 and reached 30pc in 2022. Financially included individuals are those who have an account in their name with a full-service financial institution.

As for banking activities and attitudes, 19pc of adult Pakistanis have registered a bank account, according to the survey. The most common use of bank accounts is depositing money into one’s account (95pc), followed by withdrawal of money (38pc) and receiving wages (27pc).

About 81pc of Pakistani adults do not have bank accounts. Their main reason is “do not need one and have never thought of using one,” as reported by 68pc of those without a bank account.

Registered users for mobile money — which involves the use of a mobile phone to transfer funds, deposit or withdraw funds or pay bills — as a percentage of Pakistani adults also increased from 9pc in 2020 to 19pc in 2022.

About 45pc of mobile money wallet users recommended their use to others. Of these, 37pc recommended a specific mobile money wallet service. JazzCash was the most recommended service (69pc), followed by Telenor Easypaisa (24pc). The top reasons for recommending Easypaisa were “easier to transact with me” (69pc), “easier to use” (27pc) and “cheaper to transact with me” (26pc).

In comparison, JazzCash was recommended because of “lower transaction fees” (34pc) and “used by people I socialise with” (32pc).

The survey showed only 11pc of adult Pakistanis knew about Raast, which is the instant payment system that settles small-value retail payments in real-time while providing a universal access to all institutions in the financial industry. There’s is a “significant gender gap” in awareness about Raast as 16pc of men were aware of it versus only 5pc women.

Overall, 10pc of adult Pakistanis have used Raast, the survey showed. Its users are predominantly men (13pc). Urban areas have a higher percentage of Raast users (14pc) compared to rural areas (7pc).

The survey showed trust levels have increased for all types of financial institutions in the last nine years. The largest increase can be noticed for mobile money. Its level of trust has increased from 39pc in 2013 to 82pc in 2022. Trust in mobile money agents also increased from 37pc in 2013 to 77pc in 2022. Trust in the hundi/hawala system remained stagnant over the last nine years.

According to the survey, knowledge of different types of insurance products varied significantly among adult Pakistanis. About 50pc of them were either “very familiar” or “familiar” with life insurance. Familiarity with health insurance was reported by 37pc of the surveyed. The lowest level of awareness was about crop insurance (19pc).

Overall, 9pc of Pakistani adults have insurance policies. As is the case with using bank accounts and mobile money wallets, a gender gap also exists in the adoption of insurance policies: 12pc men versus only 6pc women have insurance policies, the survey showed.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2023