Examining Customer Journeys at Financial Institutions in Cambodia: Using Big Data to Advance Women’s Financial Inclusion

National financial inclusion surveys such as Finscope, Intermedia and Findex provide significant insights into people’s access to finance, but the understanding of customers’ long-term financial service use remains limited. This study uses readily available big data from four financial service providers (FSP) in Cambodia - covering approximately 21 percent of the loans and savings market - to examine how long customers stay with their financial institutions and what types of products they take up during their journey.

Conducting survival analysis and applying a gender lens, this study finds that although men and women have equal access to credit and saving services, the actual amounts of loans and savings mobilized are much lower for women than men. The study estimates that reducing passive savings accounts and borrower exit by 10 percent could add an additional $52 to $155 million to the deposit portfolio and $304 million to the loan portfolio of the four FSPs as well as reduce operating expenses by $54 million. The paper offers business and policy recommendations for improving customer retention through better product development, and recommends incorporating savings mobilization for women and youth into the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.