Nearly half of Filipino adults remain without a formal bank account despite the country’s rapid shift to digital payments and mobile wallets, according to a new study conducted by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) and Mastercard.

The study titled “Inclusion by Design: Building Bridges to Financial Health” showed that 49.8 percent of Filipinos did not own a bank account in 2024, far below the global average of 79 percent. This was despite a decade of progress from only 26.6 percent of adults with accounts in 2011.....