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Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021

Can governments make cash transfers to citizens without bank accounts?

EconoFact, EconoFact
yes

While 30% of the global population does not have a bank account, two-thirds of unbanked adults worldwide have a mobile phone. Mobile money applications stand in for traditional banking services in many parts of the world. Mobile money services facilitate a variety of financial transactions via mobile phones including storing cash, making withdrawals, making cash transfers, and paying bills without requiring a bank account. In 2019, there were 290 mobile money deployments (mobile money services) across 95 countries with over 1 billion registered users. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the governments of Bangladesh, Morocco, Kenya, India, Cambodia, and Columbia (among others) used mobile money to make cash transfers to their citizens. 

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