Several people in Pakistan deprived of banking facilities: ADB

Islamabad: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released a report on financial services in Pakistan.

The report claims that a large number of people in Pakistan are deprived of banking facilities, and more than one billion people in developing Asia are deprived of banking facilities.

According to the report issued by the ADB on financial services in Pakistan, Pakistan’s population of 241 million consists of 60 percent adults, and there are 91 million individual financial institution accounts in the country.

According to the report, a large number of the adult population does not have access to formal financial services, financial services in Pakistan are developing rapidly in 15 years, and the number of accounts in financial institutions has increased by 127 percent from 2019 to 2024.

The ADB report stated that financial exclusion affects women more than men. Women’s access to banking facilities is half that of men.

The report said that a large number of people in Pakistan are also deprived of banking facilities. Only 21 percent of people in Pakistan have access to a bank account or mobile money, and many people rely on informal networks for financial transactions.

The Asian Development Bank also said in the report that digital finance provides a great opportunity to fill this gap. Digital finance enables faster, safer, and more accessible transactions.