Page 156 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 1

STS422 Robin G. et al.

Examining customer journeys at financial
institutions in Cambodia
1
1
Robin Gravesteijn , Mayank Kumar Jain , Jonggun Lee
2
1 United Nations Capital Development Fund
2 United Nations Pulse Lab Jakarta

Abstract
National financial inclusion surveys such as Finscope, Intermedia and Findex
provide significant insights into people’s access to finance, but the
understanding of customer’s long-term financial service use remains limited.
This study uses readily available big data from four Financial Service Providers
(FSPs) in Cambodia—covering approximately 21 percent of the loans and
savings market—to examine how long customers stay with their financial
institutions and what types of products they take up during their journey.
Conducting ‘survival analysis’ and applying a gender lens, the study finds that
although men and women have equal access to credit and saving services, the
actual amounts of loans and savings mobilized are much lower for women
than men, despite women generally staying longer in borrowing relationships
for individual loans than men. Nearly 70 percent of customers had low-value
or passive savings accounts with deposit balances below US$5 and women
were more likely to have passive accounts (75 percent) than with men (59
percent). Savings mobilization remains a challenge in Cambodia, particularly
outside Phnom Penh and for older people, as these depositors are more likely
to have passive accounts. The majority of borrowers (78 percent) exit the FSPs
within the first three years, implying there is a limited long-term borrowing
relationship across the board. The study estimates that reducing passive
savings accounts and borrower exit by 10 percent could add an additional $52
million to the deposit portfolio (10 to 33 percent for 2015 portfolio levels) and
$304 million to the loan portfolio (24 percent) of the four FSPs as well as
reduce operating expenses by $54 million. The paper offers business and
policy recommendations for improving customer retention through better
product development and recommends incorporating savings mobilization
for women and youth into the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. 1

Keywords
Financial Inclusion; Survival Analysis; Savings Mobilisation; Cambodia; Big Data
1. Introduction

1 The current short paper is an excerpt from the wider joint working paper of UNCDF and UN
Pulse lab Jakarta (2018), drafted by Gravesteijn, R., M. K. Jain, and J. Lee (2018, July). Examining
Customer Journeys at Financial Institutions in Cambodia. Using Big Data to Advance Women’s
Financial Inclusion UNCDF UN Pulse Lab Jakarta pp1-40.

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