Household Access to Financial Services: Standards for Key Data Comparable Across Countries

This note discusses how best to obtain internationally comparable data on the access of households to financial services. The note:

• Asks how the boundaries of the financial system should be defined for the purpose of data collection on access;
• Discusses whether the household or the individual should be the main focus, and whether other groupings are relevant;
• Lists key concepts to be measured and presents a set of three required indicators;
• Discusses research and analytical issues and asks to what extent it is practical to attempt to move beyond a dichotomous yes-no approach and to quantify the degree of usage of each household;
• Sets out the main questions for discussion if this initiative is to be taken forward.

The note ensures that all surveys provide, on a comparable basis, key indicators of access to four of the main functions that the financial sector performs, namely:

• Savings mobilization;
• Allocation of loan able funds;
• Facilitating payments;
• Transforming risk.

The note states that the required set of concepts and measures that this paper proposes are intended as a minimum standard for future household surveys and are specifically designed for the purpose of generating an international data base on access that uses comparable components.

The paper recommends:

• The definition of concepts in an appropriate and general way;
• The adaptability of the questionnaire to the local context.