Globally, 1.7 billion people did not have bank accounts in 2017 (World Bank, 2018)

The statistic comes from The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution, published on April 19th, 2018.

According to the World Bank report, the use of digital payments is on the rise but cash continues to play an important role globally with 1.7 billion people living unbanked and relying on cash to get by.

Key findings include

• 1.7 billion people did not have bank accounts in 2017
• 1 billion adults who have an account still use cash to pay utility bills
• 300 million account owners worldwide work in the private sector and get paid in cash
• 275 million account owners receive cash payments for the sale of agricultural products.