Brief
Finch Technologies flags four shifts shaping Africa’s financial inclusion
Finch Technologies co‑founder Christopher Ball outlines how smartphone data, AI scoring and other trends could close the gap.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Africa’s financial‑inclusion landscape has improved, yet large gaps remain, Finch Technologies co‑founder Christopher Ball told Bizcommunity.
What happened
The World Bank’s Global Findex shows account ownership across sub‑Saharan Africa climbed from 49% in 2021 to 58% in 2025. GSMA data indicates that registered mobile‑money accounts reached 2.3 billion worldwide in 2025, with 1.2 billion of those in Africa. However, more than 1.7 billion of the global accounts are idle and only 25.7% register monthly activity, meaning roughly seven in ten accounts are dormant.
What the reports add
Ball highlights four structural shifts that could reshape the market. First, “your smartphone data becomes your credit score” – with over 1.1 billion mobile‑money accounts in sub‑Saharan Africa, behavioural signals from data‑plan purchases, airtime recharges and wallet usage can supplement traditional credit information. Second, AI‑driven behavioural scoring is positioned to address the bottleneck in South Africa’s formal credit industry, which processes about 13 million applications each quarter and declines roughly 8 million, according to National Credit Regulator data.
What was said
“If we look at our data alone, financial inclusion in Africa remains a very achievable end goal. More consumers are opening bank accounts and transacting digitally than they were a year ago, pointing to a clear behavioural shift away from cash and towards digital products for managing, saving and transferring money,” Ball said to Bizcommunity.
How it came about
The rise in account ownership follows the IMF’s 2008 call for inclusion as part of South Africa’s broader transformation agenda. Finch Technologies, a fintech focused on digital credit, has been tracking the shift from cash to mobile‑money platforms, noting that the growing digital footprint creates new data sources for lenders.
Key facts
- Account ownership in sub‑Saharan Africa rose from 49% in 2021 to 58% in 2025. (bizcommunity.com)
- Registered mobile‑money accounts reached 2.3 billion globally in 2025, with 1.2 billion in Africa. (bizcommunity.com)
- More than 1.7 billion global mobile‑money accounts are idle; only 25.7% are active monthly. (bizcommunity.com)
- Finch Technologies co‑founder Christopher Ball says smartphone data could become a credit score. (bizcommunity.com)
- South Africa’s formal credit industry receives about 13 million applications each quarter and declines roughly 8 million. (bizcommunity.com)
Sources
- [1] bizcommunity.com — originally reported as “Africa’s financial inclusion revolution isn’t over: 4 shifts that could change what comes next”
