FinScope Tanzania 2013

This paper presents the results of FinScope Tanzania 2013, which is the third cycle of a survey conducted to measure the demand for and access to financial services amongst adults throughout the Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. It provides information on what services people do and do not use and why, what barriers prevent more use, and what is different from region to region. It also gives insights into people's attitudes and behaviors, into gender differences, urban and rural coverage, trends and choices- all with a perspective spanning seven years. The paper makes the following observations:

• The number of people who are totally excluded has seen as significant drop. While in 2009, it was 11.7 million people, it has almost halved in 2013. This is mainly due to a rise in the usage of mobile financial services;
• Though the most common use of mobile financial services is currently remitting, advances in the technology and innovation are beginning to offer a greater range of secure and affordable products/services;
• Advances in the range and flexibility of insurance products has led to a rise in their popularity, most of which is concentrated in the healthcare sector;
• Increase in the usage of bank products/services has been modest.