Can governments make cash transfers to citizens without bank accounts?
Yes
While 30% of the global population does not have a bank account, two-thirds of unbanked adults worldwide have a mobile phone. Mobile money applications stand in for traditional banking services in many parts of the world. Mobile money services facilitate a variety of financial transactions via mobile phones including storing cash, making withdrawals, making cash transfers, and paying bills without requiring a bank account. In 2019, there were 290 mobile money deployments (mobile money services) across 95 countries with over 1 billion registered users. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the governments of Bangladesh, Morocco, Kenya, India, Cambodia, and Columbia (among others) used mobile money to make cash transfers to their citizens.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources:
Econofact is partnering with Gigafact–an initiative focused on countering misinformation and spreading facts.