Universal Financial Access

In 2014, an estimated 2 billion adults lacked access to a transaction account (Global Findex 2014) and were excluded from the formal financial system. In response, the World Bank Group (WBG) with private and public sector partners set an ambitious target to achieve Universal Financial Access (UFA) by 2020. The UFA goal envisions that, by 2020, adults globally will be able to have access to a transaction account or electronic instrument to store money, send and receive payments. Financial access is the first step toward broader financial inclusion, where individuals and firms can safely use of a range of appropriate financial services, including savings, payments, credit and insurance.