Usage of the formal financial system in Mexico: The role of information.

摘要

Families' access to a reliable financial system is essential to improve their standard of living. Even when 97 percent of the adult population in Mexico has access to the formal financial system only 36 percent have a savings account. Furthermore, only 28 percent use formal mechanisms to borrow money. Suitable policies are needed in order to increase the usage of financial services. Using the first National Survey on Financial Inclusion (ENIF), this study examines the role of information on the usage of formal financial services in Mexico. The author finds that use of savings accounts and credit cards is positively associated with knowledge about commissions and deposit insurance, and that this relationship strengthens with the level of income. He also shows the lack of significant relationship between the use of formal financial products and commuting costs. Overall the results suggest that future interventions in Mexico should focus on usage of financial products -demand side- given that access seems to be no longer a major constraint. A better understanding of the determinants that are keeping adults from using the formal financial sector would help to design better financial products and better avenues to them.