Financial Inclusion Starts with Digital Payment Access
According to the World Bank’s Global Findex Database, 86% of adults worldwide now own a mobile phone, and nearly 70% of the global population uses the internet, primarily via smartphones (1). Even more striking, 42% of adults without a financial account in low- and middle-income economies already own a smartphone (1). These figures highlight a crucial shift: the challenge is no longer connectivity, but access to appropriate payment rails. This is where Alternative Payment Methods (APMs)—such as mobile money, carrier billing, digital wallets, and QR-based payments—play a central role in enabling financial inclusion at scale.
Despite progress over the last decade, financial access remains uneven. While 79% of adults globally now have a financial account, nearly half of those accounts are not fully digitally enabled (1). In many regions, particularly across Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and parts of South Asia, limited access to banking infrastructure still restricts participation in the digital economy and limits financial inclusion.
Credit cards illustrate this gap clearly. In low- and middle-income economies, only 15% of adults used a credit card in the past year, with high usage concentrated in a small number of middle-income countries (1). This structural limitation leaves billions of users unable to pay for digital goods and services using traditional methods.
By contrast, mobile-based payment solutions leverage infrastructure that already exists at massive scale. Mobile money alone counted 2.1 billion registered accounts globally in 2024, processing $1.68 trillion in transactions, or roughly $4.6 billion per day (2). These figures show that APMs are no longer niche alternatives, but core financial infrastructure in many markets.
Local Adaptation as a Driver of Financial Inclusion
Financial inclusion cannot be achieved through a single global payment model. Each market has its own economic realities, consumption habits, regulatory frameworks, and levels of digital maturity. Local adaptation is therefore essential.
Africa illustrates this clearly. More than 50% of all mobile money accounts globally are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, which also accounts for 74% of global transaction volumes (2). Mobile money has become deeply embedded in daily economic life, enabling payments, transfers, savings, and increasingly, merchant transactions.
Latin America and parts of Asia show different dynamics. Mobile money adoption is growing rapidly, often alongside bank accounts rather than replacing them¹. This hybrid model—where wallets, banks, and merchants interoperate—is becoming a defining feature of inclusive digital economies.
Democratizing Access to Digital Services
Alternative Payment Methods play a critical role in democratizing access to digital services. As users increasingly consume music streaming, video-on-demand, gaming, news, and subscription-based content via smartphones, expectations around payment simplicity continue to rise.
The growth of digital payments reflects this shift. More than 60% of adults in low- and middle-income economies now make or receive digital payments, and adoption of digital merchant payments has increased steadily since 2021 (1). In regions with high smartphone penetration, such as East Asia & Pacific, this has translated into some of the world’s highest rates of digital merchant payment usage (1).
APMs lower entry barriers, making paid digital content accessible to broader audiences while supporting sustainable monetization models.
Empowering Merchants and Content Creators
Financial inclusion is not only about consumers—it is also about enabling merchants, platforms, and content creators to reach underserved audiences. In underbanked regions, the inability to accept alternative payments can significantly limit growth.
Mobile money is increasingly merchant-facing. In 2024, $105 billion was paid to merchants via mobile money, making merchant payments the largest transaction category within the ecosystem (2). QR-based acceptance models, particularly prevalent in East Asia, enable low-cost digital payments that are accessible to small businesses and informal merchants.
By connecting merchants to mobile-first payment rails, APMs help expand digital commerce, reduce reliance on cash, and unlock new revenue streams.
Alternative Payment Methods as a Foundation for Inclusive Growth
Alternative Payment Methods have become essential tools for financial inclusion in the digital age. Backed by massive mobile penetration, accelerating adoption, and proven economic impact, APMs enable users, merchants, and entire economies to participate in digital growth.
By embracing locally adapted, mobile-first payment strategies, businesses and policymakers can help build a more inclusive, resilient, and connected digital economy.
