Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Friday 20 april 2018
A25

Cell phones, biometrics fuel jump in bank account ownership

By KEN SWEET nancial system.
AP Business Writer The World Bank also recom-
NEW YORK (AP) — Roughly mended in its report that
seven out of every 10 adults countries move their pen-
worldwide now have some sion payments and other
form of bank account, the forms of government trans-
World Bank said Thursday, fers from cash to electronic
largely due to the prolifera- in order to spur broader
tion of cell phone-based bank account ownership.
bank accounts and other Utility companies can also
simple bank account pro- consider other electronic
grams in places like India forms of payment to spur
and Sub-Saharan Africa. bank account usage, the
The finding is a sign of the World Bank said.
improved financial wellbe- While nearly every demo-
ing of those living in de- graphic and continent saw
veloping countries and increased usage of bank
particularly women, who In this Dec. 2, 2016, file photo, Indians stand in a queue outside a bank to withdraw cash in Ah- accounts and other forms
increasingly have a safe madabad, India. of savings, the gender gap
place to store their savings Associated Press among those using finan-
and are able to participate cial services remains high,
in the growing digitalization that involves interviews or report was not measur- also saw jumps in mobile according to the World
of the global economy. surveys of 150,000 people ing whether or not a bank phone account usage in Bank. Women are nine per-
But women still lag behind covering 144 countries rep- account is used, just if an the last few years. Mobile centage points less likely
their male counterparts in resenting 98 percent of the adult had one or not. money accounts also ap- to have a bank or mobile
bank account ownership, world's population. Sub-Saharan Africa saw pear to be gaining popu- money account, a gap
the World Bank report said. A chunk of the growth big growth as well, fueled larity in other parts of the that hasn't changed since
An estimated 69 percent came from India, the by mobile phone-based continent as well, not just the 2014 report.
of adults had some sort of world's second-most popu- accounts. These "mobile East Africa, to places like But the biggest barrier to
bank account in 2017, up lous country, where bank money" accounts, as they West Africa. spur bank account owner-
from an estimated 51 per- account ownership has are sometimes known, World Bank experts expect ship remains wealth itself.
cent in 2011 and up from 62 more than doubled from are tied to a person's cell that mobile money ac- The poor are much less
percent in 2014. That trans- 40 percent to 80 percent in phone account instead of counts will be the primary likely to have a bank or
lates into an additional 515 six years. Since 2014, the In- a bank, and allow users to way to drive the remain- mobile money account,
million adults now having a dian government has been transfer money to family or ing 1.7 billion people with- largely due to the lack of
bank account compared pushing a program to sign businesses. out a bank account into money they have to store
to three years ago. up individuals for simple, In countries such as Kenya, financial services. The bank in it. Two-thirds of those sur-
The figures were released no-fee accounts tied to roughly three quarters of estimates that 1.1 billion of veyed who did not have a
as part of the World Bank's government biometric Kenyans have a mobile those 1.7 billion unbanked bank account said a lack
Global Findex Report , a identification cards. While money account, and other adults have a mobile of savings was their primary
study on financial inclusion usage of those accounts Sub-Saharan countries like phone, and could be more reason for not having one.
released every three years is mixed, the World Bank Zimbabwe and Uganda easily brought into the fi- q

Russia joins bid to win compensation

over U.S. metals tariffs

has rejected those argu- "safeguard" clause to allow
ments and says the mea- for similar compensation in
sures are for national secu- other areas, to balance out
rity reasons. the impact on trade over-
Russia has asked for "con- all.
sultations" with the United But the United States de-
States over a provision un- nies the allegations by oth-
der WTO rules that require ers that the tariffs amount
countries who invoke the to a safeguard measure.q
Moscow municipal workers repair a road, in Moscow, Wednes-
day, April 18, 2018. Many of roads are in need of repair after the
winter season.
Associated Press

By JAMEY KEATEN The WTO published a filing
GENEVA (AP) — Russia on from Russia that, like other
Thursday joined the Europe- countries, argues that the
an Union, India and China U.S. tariffs that took ef-
in appealing through the fect March 23 amount to
World Trade Organization a "safeguard" measure
to demand compensation aimed to protect U.S. do-
from the United States for its mestic producers from
tariffs on foreign steel and surging imports.
aluminum. The Trump administration