Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office
Given their widespread presence in rural and poor areas, post offices can play a leading role in advancing financial inclusion. Yet little is known about the type of clients that post offices reach through their financial service offerings as compa...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18419181/financial-inclusion-role-post-office http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16882 |
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okr-10986-168822021-04-23T14:03:32Z Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office Anson, Jose Berthaud, Alexandre Klapper, Leora Singer, Dorothe ACCESS POINTS ACCESS TO FINANCE ACCOUNT HOLDERS ACCOUNT OWNERS ACCOUNT OWNERSHIP BANK ACCOUNT BANK BRANCHES BUSINESS MODEL BUSINESS MODELS BUSINESS STRATEGY BUSINESSES CENTRAL BANK COLLEGE DEGREE COMMERCIAL BANKS COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES CONTACT POINTS COUNTRY FIXED EFFECTS CREDIT UNION DEBIT CARD DEMOGRAPHIC DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS DEPOSIT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DIGITAL COMMUNICATION ECONOMIC ACTIVITY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EMERGING MARKETS EMPLOYER EMPLOYMENT STATUS FINANCIAL ACCESS FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL SERVICE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDER FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS FINANCIAL SERVICES FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDER FORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR FORMAL SAVINGS GENDER INCOME INCOMES INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL BANK LABOR MARKET LICENSE LICENSES LOAN MERCHANT MERCHANTS MFI MFIS MICROFINANCE MICROFINANCE INSTITUTION MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS MOBILE NETWORK OPEN ACCESS PAYOUT POST POST BANK POST OFFERS POST OFFICE POST OFFICE ACCESS POST OFFICE NETWORK POST OFFICE SAVINGS POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS POST OFFICES POSTAL POSTAL ACCOUNT POSTAL ACCOUNTS POSTAL BANK POSTAL BANKS POSTAL BUSINESS POSTAL ECONOMICS POSTAL FINANCIAL SERVICES POSTAL INSURANCE POSTAL NETWORK POSTAL NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE POSTAL NETWORKS POSTAL OPERATORS POSTAL REGULATOR POSTAL SAVINGS POSTAL SAVINGS BANKS POSTAL SECTOR POSTAL SERVICE POSTAL SERVICES POSTS PRIVATE SAVINGS PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT REAL ESTATE REMITTANCE REMITTANCES REPAYMENT REPORTING RESULT RESULTS SAVINGS ACCOUNTS SAVINGS BANK SAVINGS INSTITUTIONS SUPERVISION TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION UPU URBAN AREAS USES VILLAGE VULNERABLE GROUPS WEB WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS financial inclusion Given their widespread presence in rural and poor areas, post offices can play a leading role in advancing financial inclusion. Yet little is known about the type of clients that post offices reach through their financial service offerings as compared with clients of traditional financial institutions (such as commercial banks). This paper documents and analyzes account ownership patterns at post offices in comparison with traditional financial institutions, using the Global Financial Inclusion Indicators (Global Findex) database, which collects data on account ownership at post offices in 60 countries where postal accounts are offered. Controlling for a host of individual characteristics and country fixed effects, the paper finds that post offices are relatively more likely than traditional financial institutions to provide accounts to individuals who are most likely to be from financially vulnerable groups, such as the poor, less educated, and those out of the labor force. The paper also uses data from the Universal Postal Union to explore the degree to which different postal business models and the size of the postal network help explain differences in account ownership patterns. The results suggest that post offices can boost account ownership by acting as cash-merchants for transactional financial services, such as electronic government and remittance payments, and that partnerships between the post office and other financial institutions coincide with a higher bank account penetration. The paper also finds that the size of the postal network matters; the larger the network-relative to the network of traditional financial institutions -- the more likely it is that adults have an account at the post office. 2014-02-04T19:48:08Z 2014-02-04T19:48:08Z 2013-10 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18419181/financial-inclusion-role-post-office http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16882 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6630 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
ACCESS POINTS ACCESS TO FINANCE ACCOUNT HOLDERS ACCOUNT OWNERS ACCOUNT OWNERSHIP BANK ACCOUNT BANK BRANCHES BUSINESS MODEL BUSINESS MODELS BUSINESS STRATEGY BUSINESSES CENTRAL BANK COLLEGE DEGREE COMMERCIAL BANKS COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES CONTACT POINTS COUNTRY FIXED EFFECTS CREDIT UNION DEBIT CARD DEMOGRAPHIC DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS DEPOSIT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DIGITAL COMMUNICATION ECONOMIC ACTIVITY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EMERGING MARKETS EMPLOYER EMPLOYMENT STATUS FINANCIAL ACCESS FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL SERVICE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDER FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS FINANCIAL SERVICES FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDER FORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR FORMAL SAVINGS GENDER INCOME INCOMES INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL BANK LABOR MARKET LICENSE LICENSES LOAN MERCHANT MERCHANTS MFI MFIS MICROFINANCE MICROFINANCE INSTITUTION MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS MOBILE NETWORK OPEN ACCESS PAYOUT POST POST BANK POST OFFERS POST OFFICE POST OFFICE ACCESS POST OFFICE NETWORK POST OFFICE SAVINGS POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS POST OFFICES POSTAL POSTAL ACCOUNT POSTAL ACCOUNTS POSTAL BANK POSTAL BANKS POSTAL BUSINESS POSTAL ECONOMICS POSTAL FINANCIAL SERVICES POSTAL INSURANCE POSTAL NETWORK POSTAL NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE POSTAL NETWORKS POSTAL OPERATORS POSTAL REGULATOR POSTAL SAVINGS POSTAL SAVINGS BANKS POSTAL SECTOR POSTAL SERVICE POSTAL SERVICES POSTS PRIVATE SAVINGS PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT REAL ESTATE REMITTANCE REMITTANCES REPAYMENT REPORTING RESULT RESULTS SAVINGS ACCOUNTS SAVINGS BANK SAVINGS INSTITUTIONS SUPERVISION TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION UPU URBAN AREAS USES VILLAGE VULNERABLE GROUPS WEB WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS financial inclusion |
| spellingShingle |
ACCESS POINTS ACCESS TO FINANCE ACCOUNT HOLDERS ACCOUNT OWNERS ACCOUNT OWNERSHIP BANK ACCOUNT BANK BRANCHES BUSINESS MODEL BUSINESS MODELS BUSINESS STRATEGY BUSINESSES CENTRAL BANK COLLEGE DEGREE COMMERCIAL BANKS COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES CONTACT POINTS COUNTRY FIXED EFFECTS CREDIT UNION DEBIT CARD DEMOGRAPHIC DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS DEPOSIT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DIGITAL COMMUNICATION ECONOMIC ACTIVITY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EMERGING MARKETS EMPLOYER EMPLOYMENT STATUS FINANCIAL ACCESS FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL SERVICE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDER FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS FINANCIAL SERVICES FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDER FORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR FORMAL SAVINGS GENDER INCOME INCOMES INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL BANK LABOR MARKET LICENSE LICENSES LOAN MERCHANT MERCHANTS MFI MFIS MICROFINANCE MICROFINANCE INSTITUTION MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS MOBILE NETWORK OPEN ACCESS PAYOUT POST POST BANK POST OFFERS POST OFFICE POST OFFICE ACCESS POST OFFICE NETWORK POST OFFICE SAVINGS POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS POST OFFICES POSTAL POSTAL ACCOUNT POSTAL ACCOUNTS POSTAL BANK POSTAL BANKS POSTAL BUSINESS POSTAL ECONOMICS POSTAL FINANCIAL SERVICES POSTAL INSURANCE POSTAL NETWORK POSTAL NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE POSTAL NETWORKS POSTAL OPERATORS POSTAL REGULATOR POSTAL SAVINGS POSTAL SAVINGS BANKS POSTAL SECTOR POSTAL SERVICE POSTAL SERVICES POSTS PRIVATE SAVINGS PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT REAL ESTATE REMITTANCE REMITTANCES REPAYMENT REPORTING RESULT RESULTS SAVINGS ACCOUNTS SAVINGS BANK SAVINGS INSTITUTIONS SUPERVISION TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION UPU URBAN AREAS USES VILLAGE VULNERABLE GROUPS WEB WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS financial inclusion Anson, Jose Berthaud, Alexandre Klapper, Leora Singer, Dorothe Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6630 |
| description |
Given their widespread presence in rural
and poor areas, post offices can play a leading role in
advancing financial inclusion. Yet little is known about the
type of clients that post offices reach through their
financial service offerings as compared with clients of
traditional financial institutions (such as commercial
banks). This paper documents and analyzes account ownership
patterns at post offices in comparison with traditional
financial institutions, using the Global Financial Inclusion
Indicators (Global Findex) database, which collects data on
account ownership at post offices in 60 countries where
postal accounts are offered. Controlling for a host of
individual characteristics and country fixed effects, the
paper finds that post offices are relatively more likely
than traditional financial institutions to provide accounts
to individuals who are most likely to be from financially
vulnerable groups, such as the poor, less educated, and
those out of the labor force. The paper also uses data from
the Universal Postal Union to explore the degree to which
different postal business models and the size of the postal
network help explain differences in account ownership
patterns. The results suggest that post offices can boost
account ownership by acting as cash-merchants for
transactional financial services, such as electronic
government and remittance payments, and that partnerships
between the post office and other financial institutions
coincide with a higher bank account penetration. The paper
also finds that the size of the postal network matters; the
larger the network-relative to the network of traditional
financial institutions -- the more likely it is that adults
have an account at the post office. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Anson, Jose Berthaud, Alexandre Klapper, Leora Singer, Dorothe |
| author_facet |
Anson, Jose Berthaud, Alexandre Klapper, Leora Singer, Dorothe |
| author_sort |
Anson, Jose |
| title |
Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office |
| title_short |
Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office |
| title_full |
Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office |
| title_fullStr |
Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Financial Inclusion and the Role of the Post Office |
| title_sort |
financial inclusion and the role of the post office |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18419181/financial-inclusion-role-post-office http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16882 |
| _version_ |
1764434798074396672 |