Financial Well-Being - Chapter 3 - Financial resilience, financial worrying, and opportunities via the financial system

Jul 19, 2026

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Financial well-being links financial inclusion to a person’s resilience against unexpected expenses, the stress caused by common financial issues, and confidence in using financial resources. The Global Findex 2021 survey evaluates resilience by assessing whether adults can obtain extra money quickly and where they would source it. Results highlight unequal access to emergency funds, widespread worry about health and other major costs, and gaps in how users can practically benefit from accounts. The findings point to consumer safeguards, transparent pricing and disclosures, improved product information, and learning-by-doing onboarding to strengthen trust and usage.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages39

Reading Time1 h 38 min

Financial Well-Being

Financial resilience

Financial worrying

Opportunities to support financial well-being through the financial system

Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized CHAPTER 3 Financial Well-Being 3.1 Financial resilience 3.2 Financial worrying 3.3 Opportunities to support financial well-being through the financial system Financial Well-being 141 Introduction As highlighted in the introductions to chapters 1 and 2, the growth in ownership and usage of accounts could have positive impacts in the form of lower poverty rates, higher consumption, and more spending on education, health, and income-generating opportunities. Development goals also include improvements in well-being, which is related to a person’s financial resilience (the ability to deal with an unexpected financial event), level of stress generated by common financial issues, and level of confidence in using financial resources. Financial inclusion can support well-being by helping people feel secure in their financial future. The Global Findex 2021 survey assessed financial resilience by asking respondents whether they could come up with extra money if they had a significant unexpected expense and where they would get the money. Global Findex 2021 survey headline findings on financial well-being Financial resilience • Fifty-five percent of adults in developing economies could access emergency money within 30 days without much difficulty. • Family and friends are the first-line source of emergency money for 30 percent of adults in developing economies, but nearly half of those say the money would be hard to get. Reliance on family and friends is as high as 50 percent in the Middle East and North Africa. • Women and the poor are less likely than men and richer individuals to successfully raise emergency money, and they are more likely to rely on family and friends as their go-to source. • Adults in developing economies who save formally and use savings as their first-line source of money in an emergency are most likely to get money when they need it. Financial worrying • Sixty-three percent of adults in developing economies are very worried about one or more common financial expenses; the share for high-income economies is 33 percent of adults. • About 50 percent of adults in developing economies are very worried about covering health expenses in the event of a major illness or accident, and over 36 percent say health care costs are their biggest worry. • In Sub-Saharan Africa, worry over school fees is much more common than in other regions—54 percent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa say they worry about it, and about 30 percent say it is their biggest worry. • In developing economies, 82 percent of adults are very worried (52 percent) or somewhat worried (30 percent) about the continued financial toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial Well-being 143 Opportunities to support financial well-being • One-third of mobile money account holders in Sub-Saharan Africa cannot use their account without help from a family member or an agent. • One in five adults in developing economies who receive a wage payment into a financial institution account paid unexpected fees on the transaction. These findings collectively point to a key area of concern related to financial inclusion: poor and financially inexperienced users may not be able to benefit from account ownership if they do not understand how to use financial services in a way that optimizes benefits and avoids consumer protection risks such as high and hidden fees, overindebtedness, fraud, and discrimination.1 For example, inexperienced account owners who must aska family member or a banking agent for help using an account may be more vulnerable to financial abuse. Consumer safeguards are also important for building public trust in the financial system. Clear and easy-to-understand product terms may be especially important for adults with limited financial experience and capability. A mystery shopper audit of 1,000 microfinance firms in Uganda found that information on acco

FAQs

How does financial well-being relate to financial inclusion?

Financial inclusion can support well-being by helping people feel secure about their financial future and by improving resilience to unexpected financial events, reducing stress from common financial problems, and strengthening confidence in using financial resources.

What does the Global Findex 2021 survey use to assess financial resilience?

It asks whether respondents can come up with extra money if they face a significant unexpected expense and where they would get that money.

Which main concerns limit users from benefiting from account ownership?

Poor and financially inexperienced users may struggle to use financial services effectively, exposing them to consumer protection risks such as high or hidden fees, fraud, overindebtedness, and discrimination—making consumer safeguards and clear disclosures essential.

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Oliver