Uneven Pathways to Financial Inclusion: Physical and Digital Infrastructure in Cambodia, 2008-2023 (Advanced International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research)

Summary

• Deposit accounts rose from 91.72 to 1,586.32 accounts per 1,000 adults, the largest numerical increase among inclusion indicators.p.10
• Loan accounts increased more moderately, from 48.60 to 311.89 per 1,000 adults.p.10
• Active mobile-money accounts reached 915.26 accounts per 1,000 adults in 2023.p.11
• ATM density rose from 3.55 to 46.46 per 100,000 adults, surpassing branch density from 2019 onward.p.9
• Branch density rose from 15.23 per 100,000 adults in 2008 to a peak of 44.17 in 2016 and ended at 21.65 in 2023.p.9
• Branch growth is positively associated with changes in loan accounts (B = 4.899, p < 0.001), while the ATM coefficient is not significant.p.14

Key insights

1. POS-terminal density rose gradually from 0.35 to 3.04 terminals per 1,000 adults.p.9
2. Six regression models use 15 annual changes for 2009-2023.p.1
3. Branch and ATM growth are positively associated with deposit-account changes, while only branch growth is associated with loan-account changes.p.1
4. No selected digital indicator is significantly associated with loan-account changes.p.1
5. Internet-usage growth has a negative coefficient for active mobile-money accounts (B = -9.174, p = 0.009), but the joint evidence is marginal.p.15
6. The evidence does not support a simple substitution argument in which digital development makes conventional infrastructure unimportant.p.17
7. Regressions contain only 15 annual changes, limiting statistical power and causal interpretation.p.19