By Mark Simitia
More than three billion economically active adults worldwide remain unable to fully use formal financial services despite having access to bank or mobile money accounts, according to a new report by the Atlantic Council backed by digital lender Tala.
The report, titled “The Three-Billion-Person Challenge: Bridging the Gap Between Financial Access and Usage in Emerging Markets,” was released during Tala’s annual Business Journalists’ Breakfast in Nairobi, underscoring the growing divide between financial access and actual usage in low- and middle-income economies.
Data cited in the report from the World Bank’s Global Findex database shows that 79 per cent of adults globally—and 75 per cent in low- and middle-income economies—now hold a financial account. Mobile phone ownership is even higher, standing at 86 per cent globally and 84 per cent in emerging markets. However, usage of formal financial products remains low.
On average, only 40 per cent of adults in low- and middle-income economies saved formally in the past year, while just 24 per cent borrowed from a formal financial institution, often without access to credit products that meet their needs.
“This gap between access and usage represents both a challenge and a major opportunity for the global financial sector,” the report notes, estimating that inclusive finance could unlock more than $10 trillion in economic growth while accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking during Tala’s annual Business Journalists’ Breakfast, Tala Kenya General Manager Ann Stella Mumbi said lack of trust remains a major barrier to deeper engagement with formal financial services, even as access has expanded.
“The problem we began solving ten years ago is still very much present today. While access to credit has improved, usage remains a challenge. From our perspective, lack of trust in financial service providers is the critical factor,” Mumbi said.
She added that the findings had reinforced Tala’s focus on treating borrowers as consumers with choice, dignity and control.
“The report has reinvigorated our resolve to provide customers with awareness and control, and to continue treating them as true consumers with potential like everyone else,” she said.
The report identifies affordability, lack of trust and poor product fit as the main reasons millions of adults with financial accounts do not actively use formal digital financial services. While emerging technologies such as digital public infrastructure and artificial intelligence offer potential solutions by lowering costs and tailoring products, the report warns that weak regulation could expose consumers to fraud, surveillance and data-privacy risks.
To address trust concerns in digital finance, Tala highlighted its Global Debt Collection Dignity Initiative (DCDI), which seeks to promote fair, transparent and humane debt-collection practices across markets where the company operates.
Over the past decade, Tala has served more than 13 million customers across three continents, disbursing over $7 billion in credit, largely to borrowers who previously relied on informal lending. The company has recently expanded into new Latin American markets and is exploring partnerships and product enhancements aimed at reaching more underserved customers.
Authored by Ruth Goodwin-Groen, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center, the report calls on policymakers and financial-sector leaders to urgently strengthen consumer-protection frameworks, harmonise regulation and adopt responsible innovation to unlock inclusive growth for the global majority.
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