MANILA — The share of Filipino adults with formal financial accounts dropped to 50 percent in 2025 from 56 percent in 2021, although more households reported access to financial services, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Based on the latest Consumer Finance and Inclusion Survey (CFIS), household access rose to 86 percent, suggesting that many families rely on shared financial accounts rather than individual ownership.

The BSP said the decline in individual account ownership was largely driven by reduced accounts linked to microfinance non-government organizations (MF NGOs) and cooperatives.

Accounts with MF NGOs fell to 5 percent from 9 percent in 2021, while loan incidence dropped to 6 percent from 10 percent. Cooperative account ownership also declined to 2 percent from 5 percent, with loan incidence falling to 1 percent from 4 percent.

These declines outweighed stable figures in other segments, including e-money accounts, which remained at 36 percent, and traditional bank accounts at 23 percent.

The report noted that women continue to have higher account ownership than men, a trend observed since 2017, supported by microfinance access and the expansion of digital wallets and banking services.

“Beyond gender differences, disparities persist across income, education, and geography. Higher-income, better-educated adults are significantly more likely to own accounts,” the report said.

At the household level, 85 percent of respondents said their household had at least one financial account, up from 74 percent in 2024. Gains were also seen across account types, including e-money accounts at 76 percent from 63 percent, bank accounts at 49 percent from 43 percent, cooperatives at 9 percent from 8 percent, and MF NGO accounts at 8 percent from 6 percent.

“While account ownership is uneven individual, household-level access is strong… This indicates that many families rely on shared financial access rather than individual ownership,” the report added.

On borrowing behavior, the survey found that 25 percent of Filipino adults had outstanding loans in 2025, down from 45 percent in 2021.

About 16 percent borrowed from formal lenders, while 10 percent relied on informal sources such as friends, relatives, and neighbors.

“Filipinos generally exhibit an aversion to borrowing, as seven in 10 adults perceived that availing any type of loan is not a good idea,” the BSP said.

Loan use was concentrated among working-age adults, government workers, and women, who borrowed slightly more than men. Personal loans were the most common at 24 percent, followed by salary loans at 13 percent and multipurpose and business loans at 12 percent each.

Borrowed funds were mainly used for food and basic needs (32 percent), education (15 percent), health (14 percent), agriculture (10 percent), business startups (9 percent), household bills (9 percent), and home renovation (8 percent).

Most borrowers reported timely repayment, with 58 percent paying on schedule and 19 percent paying ahead, while 8 percent were behind. However, 34 percent still reported difficulty in repaying loans, and 8 percent said they needed to take new loans to settle existing obligations.

The survey covered 8,784 adult respondents nationwide from February 16 to July 25, 2025.