South Africa has achieved a top score in the 2015 Brookings Financial and Digital Inclusion Project (FDIP) report and scorecard, and ranked second among the countries examined for its financial inclusion efforts.
The report evaluates access to and usage of affordable financial services across 21 countries. Brookings experts John Villasenor, Darrell West and Robin Lewis analysed the financial inclusion landscape in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, and Zambia.
Countries received scores and rankings based on 33 indicators spanning four dimensions: country commitment, mobile capacity, regulatory environment, and adoption.
South Africa earned 80% of the total possible points to garner the top overall score. Other highlights of South Africa’s performance metrics include:
* The country ranked in 12th place for country commitment;
* South Africa was ranked number one for mobile capacity, achieving a 100% score;
* It ranked in 17th place for regulatory environment;
* The country ranked in third place for adoption; and
* South Africa tied for the highest score for formal account penetration, including among rural, low-income and female groups.