A study identified India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan and the Philippines as markets with the largest potential uptick in GDP offered by creating credit scores and financial identities for unbanked populations.

The report from Oxford Economics, commissioned by financial technology company Juvo, estimated global GDP could be boosted by $250 billion if schemes to create financial identities for largely unbanked populations are adopted.

Projects to establish these identities often use mobile technology and data derived from operators to create credit profiles and risk assessments.

Oxford Economics’ The YES Economy: Giving the world financial identity study identified Mexico as the country with the greatest potential for increased GDP from introducing such schemes, with an annual boost of $31 billion. This was followed by Indonesia and the Philippines, each tipped for a $17 billion rise.

Commenting on the results, Juvo CEO Steve Polsky said: “Establishing financial identities through mobile network operators could have profound implications for governments, financial institutions, and for the millions of unbanked and underbanked individuals around the world.”

GSMA global head of identity Richard Cockle added: “The customer relationships held by operators have the potential to create a unique financial identity for mobile phone users. Financial identity as a service presents a profound opportunity for mobile operators, financial services providers and merchants to create digital identities that unlock essential services.”