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Publication date:

Oct 30, 2026

IMF Data Brief: Financial Access Survey

Datasets:

Financial Access Survey (FAS)

Transforming Financial Access and Use: Nonbanks and the Rise of Digital Finance

Financial Access Survey, Country Data, Annually

Contributors: Fozan Fareed, Camila Gomes, Marthe Hinojales, Katia Huayta-Zapata, Ty Rossow, Miguel Segoviano, Annika Suri, and Sander Tromp

Data from the IMF’s Financial Access Survey (FAS) show continued gains in financial access and use. Digital technologies are transforming financial services, while nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs) continue to complement traditional bank-based intermediation.

The number of loan accounts per 100 adults increased in all three country groups (by income) between 2021 and 2025. Banks still account for most loan accounts across the economies covered. In low-income countries (LICs), however, where bank outreach is limited, nonbanks (microfinance institutions, credit unions, and credit cooperatives) now hold more loan accounts than banks, and their loan accounts per 100 adults more than doubled.

Digital payments are growing rapidly. Between 2021 and 2025, mobile money and mobile and internet banking transactions per adult more than doubled in emerging markets and more than tripled in LICs. By 2025, transactions per adult in LICs exceeded those in advanced economies.

Note to Readers

The Financial Access Survey (FAS) is the International Monetary Fund's primary source of internationally comparable supply-side data on financial inclusion. Established in 2009, the FAS collects annual data from central banks and other national authorities on access to and use of financial services. It now covers 196 economies, with data from 2004 onward. The database covers banks, nonbank financial institutions, and digital financial services, giving policymakers and researchers a comprehensive view of financial inclusion developments worldwide.

This Data Brief is based on the FAS 2025, which covers data up to the 2025 reference year. The survey was distributed to participating economies in March 2026, and the main data collection round closed in May 2026. As of October 2026, 170 economies, about 87 percent of those covered by the FAS, had reported data, up from 163 in the previous round. Curaçao, Monaco, and Sint Maarten reported for the first time. Submissions are validated by IMF staff in consultation with reporting authorities.

Data availability varies across economies and indicators, and aggregates are based on economies with available data. Additional information, metadata, and country-level data are available on the IMF Financial Access Survey website. The next version of the FAS, to be launched in 2027, will expand coverage of nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs), including fintech and digital payments, and will add more granular data on pricing, risk, and use.

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