Bank of Tanzania (BoT) is out to hook ‘unbankable’ population to the financial services at affordable costs at a time when penetration is around 14 per cent.
The BoT and financial inclusion stakeholders will launch a National Financial Inclusion Framework on Thursday, an occasion expected to be graced by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and President Jakaya Kikwete.
According to BoT, the National Financial Inclusion Framework is a document that has been developed through public and private sector financial inclusion stakeholders’ initiative.
The objective of the framework is to address identified fundamental barriers that limit financial inclusion by putting in place common, broad and robust infrastructure.
The infrastructure will support growth of a whole range of appropriate financial services and use of technologically driven delivery channels. Economists are urging that banking services are in the nature of public good, hence the availability of banking and payment services to the entire population.
Financial inclusive is regarded as a public good because its primary objective is to offer services without discrimination, which is the fundamental of the public good policy.
The tomorrow launching ceremony will be accompanied by the signing of the certificate of the Framework by members of the Financial Inclusion National Council. “The signing will signify commitment by Financial Inclusion National Council (FINC) members to implement the framework,” BoT said in a statement.
FINC is the apex body of stakeholder representatives from the private and public sectors (permanent secretaries and heads from relevant ministries, agencies and associations) which drive and monitor financial inclusion initiatives to promote greater financial inclusion in Tanzania.
The launching ceremony will be attended by financial inclusion stakeholders, who include ministries, regulatory authorities, financial institutions, associations and networks, donors and development partners.
It is estimated 2.5 billion working-age adults globally have no access to the types of formal financial services delivered by regulated financial institutions. For example, in sub- Saharan Africa only 24 per cent of adults have a bank account even though Africa’s formal financial sector has grown in the recent years.
Originally published by Daily News Tanzania.
