National Financial Inclusion taskforce notes significant strides
Atotal of 86.9 per cent of adults are financially included, surpassing the short-term National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) target of reaching 86 per cent by 2024.
Financial inclusion, as defined by the World Bank, means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs – transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance – delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.
The National Financial Inclusion Taskforce (NFIT) met on June 6, to discuss new strategies for 2022-2030.
The NFIS guides the work of the taskforce by setting a clear agenda for financial inclusion in Fiji.
Taskforce chair, Governor Ariff Ali, noted that remarkable progress has been made in advancing financial inclusion in Fiji:
The gender gap has narrowed from 11.6 percentage points (pp) in 2021 to 10.2pp in 2022, in line with an improvement in women’s financial inclusion from 78.1 percent to 81.7 per cent over the same period;
The use of digital financial services (DFS) has exceeded its short-term targets largely attributed to the spike in digital payments during the post COVID-19 period. The share of adults engaging in digital payments (excluding mobile money), grew from 19.3 per cent in 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 33.3 per cent in 2021, and further to 38.5 per cent in 2022. This substantial growth has outpaced the NFIS short-term target of reaching 34 per cent by 2024. Some key highlights from the progress reports presented by the working group chairs included the following:
CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY FOR fiNANcial consumers –
Release of a draft policy for fair treatment and protection of financial consumers for industry consultation on June 2, 2023. The policy aimed to ensure consumer protection and set minimum market conduct requirements for financial institutions and is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2024.
GENDER INCLUSIVE fiNANCE STUDY –
As recipient of a research award (Fletcher School Leadership programme for Financial Inclusion), the RBF will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the supply-side constraints faced by women and women-led MSMEs in accessing and utilising
awareness Active involvement of the diverse stakeholders significantly contributed to efforts of the taskforce in promoting financial inclusion. Specifically, collaboration with the iTaukei Affairs Board for collection of financial inclusion data for villages, would provide a comprehensive understanding of financial needs of these communities.
The taskforce is expected to meet on a sixmonthly basis to monitor progress on the achievement of financial inclusion targets under the NFIS. financial products and services. Findings from this study will provide guidance on gender sensitive and targeted products and services for financial institutions.