PURCHASE, N.Y.—A new study reveals that providing the unbanked and underbanked populations access to financial services can potentially “generate significant economic and social impact.”
Nubank and Mastercard have released findings from a study measuring the financial inclusion impact on individuals, including some who have historically been on the margins of the traditional banking system in Brazil.
According to Mastercard, the study provides a view of customers' experiences accessing and using financial solutions and tools, and the impact of those experiences on their ability to advance toward financial security and health.
Four-Part Framework
“The four-part framework used in the study – access, usage, security, health – illustrates the holistic, non-linear journey of financial inclusion. While the study was developed in Brazil, the methodology allows the insights to potentially be applied in other countries around the world,” Mastercard said.
Mastercard further said the study, which analyzed consumer behaviors and needs through pseudonymized and aggregated quantitative data and qualitative surveys with Nubank's customers and non-customers, suggests that Brazil stands out in Latin America for being at a stage of growing financial inclusion, with 70% card penetration (i.e. individuals owning a debit or credit card, according to the World Bank Global Findex), 55% card usage and a high level of real-time payments usage.
“The elimination of typical infrastructure barriers to financial inclusion makes Brazil an advantageous market for studying the process and impact of financial inclusion independent of those barriers,” Mastercard said.
Additional Findings
According to Mastercard other findings include:
- 60% of Nubank’s customers moved from financial access to usage in 24 months and 40% within 12 months, regardless of income level.
- The study also suggests that making payments with prepaid cards can be a stepping stone to accessing advanced financial products. Some 80% of people who used a prepaid card used it as their first financial product, while 67% went on to access loan products, and 36% progressed to make investments.
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