Depth sounding: shifting measurement away from a one-dimensional view of financial inclusion (Note 2) is the second note to be published from the MAP Global Insights series. It introduces a new approach to measuring financial inclusion. To the traditional emphasis on measuring ‘breadth’ – that is, the number of people using any type of formal financial service – the measurement framework adds a new indicator, ‘depth’: the number of different financial product classes used per person that reports accessing formal financial services. It expands on why such an approach is necessary in financial inclusion and applies it to the first six MAP pilot countries, highlighting the new insights it provides into the state of financial inclusion in a given market.

The traditional focus in the measurement of financial inclusion is on access to a single financial service from a formal financial institution. However, the evidence from the first six MAP pilot countries is highlighting that this approach to measurement does not accurately reflect how adults, including the poor, live their financial lives.