Ecuador Cash Income Receipt Rises To 21% As Account Use Falls

Ecuador’s use of cash for salary and other income receipt increased in 2025, while receipt through own financial-institution accounts declined.

A regional financial-inclusion survey presented in July 2026 found that 21% of Ecuador respondents received income in cash in 2025, up from 19% in 2024.

At the same time, 44% of Ecuador respondents received income through their own account at a financial institution, down from 53% in 2024.

Survey Base

The survey, Entorno de la inclusión financiera en América Latina: Ecuador, Colombia y Perú, was developed by Ecuador’s Red de Instituciones Financieras de Desarrollo with technical collaboration from Colombia’s Programa de Inversión de la Banca de las Oportunidades and Peru’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.

For this indicator, the study used 13,455 interviews with adults over 18 in 2025.

The survey also found that 4% of people in Ecuador used third-party accounts to receive income because they did not have their own account at a financial institution.

Regional Comparison

Ecuador’s cash share is above the comparable figures for its neighbors. In Colombia, 14% of respondents received income in cash in 2025, while 46% received it through their own account.

In Peru, 17% received income in cash, while 39% received it through an account at a financial institution.

What To Watch

For banks, fintechs and employers, the signal is usage rather than account count. The near-term metric to watch is whether Ecuador’s own-account income receipt rebounds, because payroll and income receipt are gateway behaviors for savings, credit and digital-payment adoption.