Financial inclusion strategy to be launched next week

Target is to reach unbanked Filipinos

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will launch next week a national strategy to provide financial services to unbanked Filipinos.

A memorandum of understanding will be signed on July 1 at the Philippine International Convention Center to launch the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI).

Financial inclusion, or giving the marginalized sectors access to the services and products of banks and other financial institutions, is seen as a critical factor in reducing poverty and achieving inclusive growth.

Achieving financial inclusion has been a major challenge in the Philippines because many municipalities are still unbanked, or unserved by banks, said Chuchi G. Fonacier, managing director of the Supervision and Examination division of Bangko Sentral.

As of last year, the central bank said 600, or roughly three out of 10 cities and municipalities in the country, were still unbanked.

Some of these cities, however, are served by money changers, pawnshops and e-payment providers. Only 12 percent of the 1,634 cities and municipalities in the country are completed unserved.

Fonacier earlier led the consultation in Cebu on the financial inclusion strategy. Consultations were also made in Manila and Davao.

The plan is to make several financial services and products — such as savings, insurance, credit and payments – more accessible to the Filipino masses who are still not in the financial system.