E24: Having a Bank Account Doesn't Mean You're Financially Better Off

Imagine a teacher gives every student a textbook on the first day of school. At the end of the year, every student still owns the book.

Does that automatically mean every student learned something? Of course not.

Some students may never have opened the book. Others may have struggled to understand it. A few may have used it every day and improved. Simply owning the textbook doesn't tell us whether learning actually happened.

For years, many countries across Africa measured progress in financial inclusion by reporting numbers like:

• How many people opened bank accounts
• How many Mobile Money wallets were registered
• How many people gained access to digital financial services

These numbers showed that more people had access to financial services.

But they didn't answer a more important question: Has people's financial lives actually improved?

That was one of the key messages from this week's African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI) meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Matilda Asante-Asiedu, said Africa can no longer measure financial inclusion simply by counting bank accounts or digital wallets. Instead, countries should focus on whether financial services are making a meaningful difference in people's lives.

Think about it. Someone can have:

• a bank account,
• two Mobile Money wallets,
• a debit card,

and still struggle to save money, access affordable loans, protect themselves with insurance, or recover from a financial emergency.

On paper, that person is financially included. But are they financially better off? That's the bigger question.

What could this mean for Ghana?

As financial inclusion evolves, success may increasingly be measured by outcomes rather than access alone.

That means banks, fintech companies and policymakers may ask questions like:

• Are more young entrepreneurs getting affordable loans?
• Are families building emergency savings?
• Are farmers receiving payments quickly and securely?
• Are women-owned businesses growing because they have better access to finance?
• Are digital financial services helping people save, invest and build wealth—not just send and receive money?

In other words, the goal is no longer just to get more people into the financial system. The goal is to ensure the financial system helps people improve their lives.

Food for thought

If someone looked at your finances today, would they simply see that you have a bank account or would they see that your money is helping you build the life you want?