Key Takeaways
- According to the World Bank's Global Findex 2025, 62.1% of adults in low- and middle-income economies made or received a digital payment in 2024, up from 34.4% in 2014.
- Fewer paid a shop digitally: 41.5% of adults in low- and middle-income economies made a digital merchant payment in 2024, according to the World Bank.
- In World Bank Findex data, the share who made or received a digital payment in 2024 ranges from 12.3% in Niger to 94.9% in Mongolia, across 98 economies.
- In 54 of the 98 economies, most adults made or received a digital payment in 2024; the median economy's share is 51.7%, from World Bank Findex data.
According to the World Bank's Global Findex 2025, 62.1% of adults in low- and middle-income economies made or received a digital payment in 2024, up from 34.4% in 2014. Fewer paid a merchant digitally: 41.5%. Across the 98 economies the survey asked, the share that made or received a digital payment ranges from 12.3% in Niger to 94.9% in Mongolia, according to the World Bank, and in 54 of them most adults did.
According to the World Bank's notes to the database, the 2025 survey asked about the use of accounts, digital payments included, only in low- and middle-income economies; 6 of the economies asked, Croatia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Oman and Panama, are classed as high income in the database. For the United States and other high-income economies, the latest figures are from the earlier editions shown on the account ownership page.
payments-adoption-global.png" alt="Bar chart of the 15 economies with the highest share of adults who made or received a digital payment in 2024, from World Bank Global Findex data, led by Mongolia at 94.9%">
Digital payments in the 98 economies asked, 2024
Shares of adults, age fifteen and over, as the World Bank estimates them. A digital payment, in the World Bank's definition, is a payment made from an account by card, mobile phone or mobile money, a bill paid or a purchase made online, or a payment received into an account, such as wages, a government transfer or a remittance. A digital merchant payment is a purchase in a store or online paid by card or mobile phone.
| Rank | Economy | Region (World Bank) | Income group | Made or received a digital payment | Made a digital merchant payment | Has an account | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mongolia | East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 94.9% | 94.9% | 98.3% | World Bank |
| 2 | Kenya | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 89.3% | 55.8% | 90.1% | World Bank |
| 3 | China | East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 88.7% | 79.6% | 89.4% | World Bank |
| 4 | Croatia | High income | High income | 88.5% | 65.3% | 92.6% | World Bank |
| 5 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 86.0% | 78.6% | 91.1% | World Bank |
| 6 | Kazakhstan | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 85.0% | 70.1% | 87.0% | World Bank |
| 7 | Ukraine | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 82.9% | 73.6% | 87.6% | World Bank |
| 8 | Thailand | East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 82.8% | 51.3% | 91.8% | World Bank |
| 9 | Poland | High income | High income | 82.1% | 78.1% | 86.1% | World Bank |
| 10 | Ghana | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 80.4% | 27.3% | 81.2% | World Bank |
| 11 | Bulgaria | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 77.6% | 54.7% | 84.7% | World Bank |
| 12 | Malaysia | East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 77.5% | 52.2% | 88.7% | World Bank |
| 13 | Brazil | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 77.4% | 60.1% | 86.4% | World Bank |
| 14 | Serbia | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 77.0% | 53.8% | 83.3% | World Bank |
| 15 | Saudi Arabia | High income | High income | 75.7% | 64.2% | 78.8% | World Bank |
| 16 | Venezuela, RB | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 75.5% | 71.6% | 87.3% | World Bank |
| 17 | North Macedonia | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 75.2% | 52.4% | 84.3% | World Bank |
| 18 | Senegal | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 73.5% | 37.0% | 76.5% | World Bank |
| 19 | Argentina | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 72.2% | 60.2% | 81.7% | World Bank |
| 20 | Turkiye | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 71.4% | 51.5% | 81.6% | World Bank |
| 21 | Zambia | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 71.2% | 19.2% | 72.7% | World Bank |
| 22 | Uganda | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 70.6% | 11.7% | 72.8% | World Bank |
| 23 | Georgia | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 69.4% | 47.6% | 78.8% | World Bank |
| 24 | Namibia | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 67.6% | 38.6% | 72.9% | World Bank |
| 25 | Kyrgyz Republic | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 67.5% | 43.4% | 72.3% | World Bank |
| 26 | South Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 67.2% | 46.9% | 81.1% | World Bank |
| 27 | Gabon | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 66.5% | 20.1% | 68.2% | World Bank |
| 28 | Montenegro | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 64.3% | 36.4% | 75.4% | World Bank |
| 29 | Mauritius | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 64.0% | 49.9% | 89.6% | World Bank |
| 30 | Romania | High income | High income | 63.6% | 50.2% | 71.3% | World Bank |
| 31 | Viet Nam | East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 62.4% | 51.1% | 70.6% | World Bank |
| 32 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 62.1% | 31.8% | 77.5% | World Bank |
| 33 | Eswatini | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 61.2% | 18.2% | 65.1% | World Bank |
| 34 | Armenia | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 60.6% | 33.8% | 71.4% | World Bank |
| 35 | Costa Rica | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 60.5% | 47.2% | 71.4% | World Bank |
| 36 | Oman | High income | High income | 60.4% | 39.3% | 69.5% | World Bank |
| 37 | Cameroon | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 59.6% | 20.3% | 60.9% | World Bank |
| 38 | Lesotho | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 58.4% | 15.7% | 61.6% | World Bank |
| 39 | Tanzania | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 57.1% | 3.9% | 59.8% | World Bank |
| 40 | Botswana | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 56.9% | 25.6% | 61.4% | World Bank |
| 41 | Cote d'Ivoire | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 56.5% | 9.2% | 57.6% | World Bank |
| 42 | Paraguay | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 55.5% | 26.0% | 60.9% | World Bank |
| 43 | Nigeria | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 54.5% | 28.4% | 63.3% | World Bank |
| 44 | Congo, Rep. | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 54.2% | 9.9% | 55.6% | World Bank |
| 45 | Togo | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 53.1% | 13.8% | 57.4% | World Bank |
| 46 | Dominican Republic | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 52.5% | 27.6% | 64.8% | World Bank |
| 47 | Panama | High income | High income | 52.1% | 36.2% | 64.1% | World Bank |
| 48 | Mali | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 51.8% | 10.2% | 54.7% | World Bank |
| 49 | Peru | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 51.7% | 32.7% | 59.3% | World Bank |
| 50 | Azerbaijan | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 51.6% | 34.2% | 56.3% | World Bank |
| 51 | Belize | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 51.2% | 24.7% | 68.0% | World Bank |
| 52 | Mozambique | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 50.5% | 18.5% | 54.4% | World Bank |
| 53 | Moldova | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 50.5% | 38.0% | 55.5% | World Bank |
| 54 | Liberia | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 50.2% | 6.5% | 52.2% | World Bank |
| 55 | Uzbekistan | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 49.9% | 38.1% | 59.7% | World Bank |
| 56 | Tajikistan | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 49.3% | 16.2% | 54.5% | World Bank |
| 57 | Colombia | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 49.2% | 26.1% | 57.1% | World Bank |
| 58 | Malawi | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 48.9% | 10.4% | 50.4% | World Bank |
| 59 | India | South Asia (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 48.5% | 18.3% | 89.0% | World Bank |
| 60 | Burkina Faso | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 48.4% | 12.0% | 51.4% | World Bank |
| 61 | Benin | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 47.7% | 6.8% | 51.8% | World Bank |
| 62 | Sri Lanka | South Asia (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 47.3% | 14.8% | 81.7% | World Bank |
| 63 | Kosovo | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 47.1% | 10.0% | 64.2% | World Bank |
| 64 | Zimbabwe | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 46.7% | 29.1% | 49.5% | World Bank |
| 65 | Bolivia | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 43.6% | 20.5% | 56.8% | World Bank |
| 66 | Ecuador | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 43.3% | 20.8% | 64.5% | World Bank |
| 67 | Indonesia | East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 42.7% | 13.6% | 56.3% | World Bank |
| 68 | Mexico | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 41.4% | 26.0% | 53.0% | World Bank |
| 69 | Philippines | East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 40.3% | 13.4% | 50.2% | World Bank |
| 70 | Jordan | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 38.2% | 12.5% | 46.5% | World Bank |
| 71 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 37.1% | 7.4% | 39.2% | World Bank |
| 72 | Sierra Leone | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 36.7% | 5.2% | 38.6% | World Bank |
| 73 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 36.3% | 5.2% | 43.1% | World Bank |
| 74 | Albania | Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 35.3% | 11.1% | 46.1% | World Bank |
| 75 | Bangladesh | South Asia (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 33.9% | 2.8% | 43.3% | World Bank |
| 76 | Cambodia | East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 32.3% | 19.8% | 39.0% | World Bank |
| 77 | Morocco | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 32.0% | 9.6% | 44.4% | World Bank |
| 78 | Guinea | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 31.8% | 8.4% | 36.0% | World Bank |
| 79 | Honduras | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 30.0% | 9.9% | 42.4% | World Bank |
| 80 | Comoros | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 28.3% | 6.8% | 45.5% | World Bank |
| 81 | Nepal | South Asia (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 28.1% | 9.3% | 60.0% | World Bank |
| 82 | El Salvador | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 28.0% | 10.0% | 43.4% | World Bank |
| 83 | Gambia, The | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 27.7% | 3.2% | 38.2% | World Bank |
| 84 | Lao PDR | East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 26.5% | 21.5% | 37.7% | World Bank |
| 85 | Iraq | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 25.0% | 10.5% | 30.2% | World Bank |
| 86 | Pakistan | South Asia (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 24.6% | 4.3% | 27.3% | World Bank |
| 87 | Mauritania | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 24.4% | 12.3% | 27.3% | World Bank |
| 88 | Tunisia | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 23.7% | 4.9% | 37.8% | World Bank |
| 89 | Libya | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 23.5% | 15.0% | 33.1% | World Bank |
| 90 | Guatemala | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Upper middle income | 22.6% | 5.5% | 38.3% | World Bank |
| 91 | Madagascar | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 21.7% | 2.4% | 24.5% | World Bank |
| 92 | West Bank and Gaza | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 20.8% | 8.2% | 39.6% | World Bank |
| 93 | Ethiopia | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 20.7% | 5.9% | 48.8% | World Bank |
| 94 | Lebanon | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 20.3% | 4.1% | 23.0% | World Bank |
| 95 | Chad | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 18.0% | 5.0% | 20.9% | World Bank |
| 96 | Nicaragua | Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 16.4% | 5.5% | 23.5% | World Bank |
| 97 | Algeria | Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | Lower middle income | 13.1% | 7.0% | 35.3% | World Bank |
| 98 | Niger | Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | Low income | 12.3% | 2.4% | 14.8% | World Bank |
Download this table (CSV), free. The full dataset, every economy and survey year since digital payments were first asked, with the made, received, merchant, bill-payment and online-purchase shares as the World Bank publishes them, is one email away.
Paying a merchant trails digital payment as a whole
According to World Bank data, 41.5% of adults in low- and middle-income economies made a digital merchant payment in 2024, against 62.1% who made or received any digital payment. In 97 of the 98 economies asked, the merchant share is lower than the overall share. The widest gaps, in World Bank Findex data:
| Economy | Made or received a digital payment | Made a digital merchant payment | Difference | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uganda | 70.6% | 11.7% | 59.0 points | World Bank |
| Tanzania | 57.1% | 3.9% | 53.3 points | World Bank |
| Ghana | 80.4% | 27.3% | 53.1 points | World Bank |
| Zambia | 71.2% | 19.2% | 52.0 points | World Bank |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 56.5% | 9.2% | 47.3 points | World Bank |
| Gabon | 66.5% | 20.1% | 46.4 points | World Bank |
| Congo, Rep. | 54.2% | 9.9% | 44.2 points | World Bank |
| Liberia | 50.2% | 6.5% | 43.7 points | World Bank |
| Eswatini | 61.2% | 18.2% | 43.1 points | World Bank |
| Lesotho | 58.4% | 15.7% | 42.7 points | World Bank |
In Uganda, the gap is 59.0 points, according to the World Bank.
By region and income group
These are the World Bank's own aggregates for 2024.
| Group (World Bank aggregate) | Made or received a digital payment | Made a digital merchant payment | Has an account | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low- and middle-income economies | 62.1% | 41.5% | 75.4% | World Bank |
| East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | 80.2% | 67.4% | 83.3% | World Bank |
| Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | 69.1% | 51.4% | 77.8% | World Bank |
| Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | 59.4% | 42.5% | 69.7% | World Bank |
| Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | 43.9% | 26.2% | 52.9% | World Bank |
| South Asia | 44.2% | 15.2% | 77.6% | World Bank |
| Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | 50.6% | 19.5% | 58.2% | World Bank |
| Upper middle income | 80.7% | 68.4% | 84.0% | World Bank |
| Lower middle income | 47.3% | 19.9% | 70.4% | World Bank |
| Low income | 37.1% | 8.5% | 46.4% | World Bank |
Made or received a digital payment, by survey year, as the World Bank aggregates it:
| Group (World Bank aggregate) | 2014 | 2017 | 2021 | 2024 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low- and middle-income economies | 34.4% | 44.5% | 54.8% | 62.1% | World Bank |
| East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) | 42.5% | 57.3% | 74.8% | 80.2% | World Bank |
| Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) | 44.0% | 54.9% | 64.9% | 69.1% | World Bank |
| Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) | 43.1% | 45.0% | 59.8% | 59.4% | World Bank |
| Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) | 34.1% | 44.1% | 38.0% | 43.9% | World Bank |
| South Asia | 19.2% | 27.8% | 33.7% | 44.2% | World Bank |
| Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) | 27.6% | 34.2% | 41.7% | 50.6% | World Bank |
| Upper middle income | 48.1% | 61.2% | 78.6% | 80.7% | World Bank |
| Lower middle income | 23.9% | 31.7% | 38.4% | 47.3% | World Bank |
| Low income | 12.8% | 23.0% | 26.9% | 37.1% | World Bank |
Each edition surveyed a somewhat different set of economies, and the World Bank's notes say some economies were surveyed by phone in 2021 rather than face to face, so the change between years is the World Bank's aggregate, not a panel of the same economies.
What this means for technology buyers
The gap between being paid digitally and paying a shop digitally is where acceptance, real-time rails and the account behind them meet. These guides compare the options:
- Real-time payments platforms: the rails behind instant account-to-account and merchant payments.
- Payment gateway solutions for banks: acceptance for merchants online and in store.
- Banking-as-a-service platforms for traditional banks: how a bank puts accounts and payments inside another firm's product.
- Core banking systems for neobanks and digital-only banks: the ledger under a digital-first account.
Mapping the business? The Payments Industry Capability Model maps what a payments business does, from acceptance to settlement.
More from Finantrix Atlas
- Account ownership around the world
- CFPB complaints about digital payment apps
- FedNow participants
- Money transmitters
How this list was built
The universe is every economy with an all-adult estimate of the share who made or received a digital payment for 2024 in the World Bank's Global Findex Database 2025, read from the country-level workbook on the Findex download page. Economies are ordered by that share; the merchant-payment and account shares are from the same workbook. The World Bank publishes the same indicators through its data API, in the Findex source: every one of the 1,749 economy-year values the page's indicators carry in the workbook matches the API.
The regional and income-group figures are the World Bank's aggregates as published, not sums computed here.
Limits
- Low- and middle-income economies. The 2025 survey asked about digital payments only in low- and middle-income economies, according to the World Bank, so most high-income economies, the United States among them, are not in the table.
- Made and received are not shown. The World Bank counts a digital merchant payment as a payment made, yet in 14 economies the published share that made a digital payment is lower than the share that made a merchant payment, and the workbook omits the split for 8 economies: China; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Ukraine; Saudi Arabia; Mauritius; Oman; Libya; Algeria. The two shares are in the dataset as published, and the page does not rank them.
- Survey estimates. Findex figures are estimates from surveys of adults in each economy, and each carries sampling error. Economies a point or two apart cannot be told apart.
- Adoption, not volume. A share of adults says who paid or was paid digitally at least once in the year, not how often or how much.
- Data date. Survey year 2024, from the Global Findex Database 2025.
Cite this
Free to quote, cite and republish, including the chart, with credit to Finantrix Atlas and a link to this page.
62.1% of adults in low- and middle-income economies made or received a digital payment in 2024, and 41.5% made a digital merchant payment, according to a Finantrix Atlas analysis of the World Bank's Global Findex Database 2025.
Suggested citation: Finantrix Atlas, "Digital Payments Adoption by Country," 2024 survey data, from the World Bank, Global Findex Database 2025, licensed under CC BY 4.0. https://www.finantrix.com/articles/digital-payments-adoption-global
Data credit: World Bank, Global Findex Database 2025, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license as the World Bank's data licensing terms set out. Changes: Finantrix Atlas ordered the economies and computed the gap between the two shares; the shares are as published.
Embed the chart:
<a href="https://www.finantrix.com/articles/digital-payments-adoption-global"><img src="https://www.finantrix.com/atlas/digital-payments-adoption-global.png" alt="Share of adults who made or received a digital payment, by economy, from Finantrix Atlas"></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://www.finantrix.com/articles/digital-payments-adoption-global">Finantrix Atlas</a>, from World Bank Global Findex data (CC BY 4.0).</p>
Frequently asked questions
Q: What share of adults make digital payments in developing countries? A: 62.1% of adults in low- and middle-income economies made or received a digital payment in 2024, according to the World Bank's Global Findex 2025, up from 34.4% in 2014.
Q: Which country has the highest share of adults using digital payments? A: Among the economies the 2025 survey asked, Mongolia, where 94.9% of adults made or received a digital payment in 2024, according to the World Bank.
Q: How many adults pay merchants digitally? A: 41.5% of adults in low- and middle-income economies made a digital merchant payment in 2024, paying in a store or online by card or mobile phone, according to the World Bank.
Q: Why is the United States not in the table? A: The World Bank's 2025 survey asked about digital payments only in low- and middle-income economies. The latest United States figure is from an earlier edition, shown on the account ownership page.
Download the data
The 98 rows on this page (CSV), free. The full dataset has all 525 rows, as of December 31, 2024; we email you a link.
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of adults make digital payments in developing countries?
62.1% of adults in low- and middle-income economies made or received a digital payment in 2024, according to the World Bank's Global Findex 2025, up from 34.4% in 2014.
Which country has the highest share of adults using digital payments?
Among the economies the 2025 survey asked, Mongolia, where 94.9% of adults made or received a digital payment in 2024, according to the World Bank.
How many adults pay merchants digitally?
41.5% of adults in low- and middle-income economies made a digital merchant payment in 2024, paying in a store or online by card or mobile phone, according to the World Bank.
Why is the United States not in the table?
The World Bank's 2025 survey asked about digital payments only in low- and middle-income economies. The latest United States figure is from an earlier edition, shown on the account ownership page.