Efforts to push financial inclusion underway
The Deputy Minister of Finance Mrs Mona Helen Quartey, has stated that financial inclusion was a catalyst that would make a profound impact to lift Ghanaians from poverty and also drive inclusive growth.
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She stated that expanding financial services to a large number of people especially in the rural areas where over 60 per cent of the population was experiencing poverty, was one of the surest ways of promoting inclusive growth and reducing poverty.
The Deputy Minister made this known a stakeholders’discussion and consultation for a national financial inclusion strategy in Accra.
According to her, government would continue to partner all stakeholders in harnessing resources towards the achievement of this objective by eliminating barriers to the use of financial services by the poor and the disadvantage.
She said government would also implement measures that would enhance the efficiency of the financial system for the realization of this objective.
“Embodied in government’s medium term objective and strategic direction is the quest to expand opportunities for all to access formal financial services as a way of driving economic growth and transformation” she noted.
The Center for Financial Inclusion explains financial inclusion as a way to access a range of quality financial services designed to meet the needs and aspirations of all people including the poor.
These financial services and products are fashioned out to help these people to meet their daily life cycle needs.
Globally about 2.5 billion adults are financially excluded, in Ghana the report indicates that only up to 58 per cent of the country’s adults have access to some form of financial services leaving the remaining 42 per cent of the adult population is financially excluded without using any form of formal or informal financial service.
A situation, she said with a collaborative of all, the country would be able to work to achieve high financial inclusion levels.
Financial sector
The financial sector has evolved over past the two decades. It has become highly competitive with the entrance of new banks and a variety of financial service providers.
These competitiveness have led to the development of new and better financial products and services to meet the needs of customers.
According to Mrs Quartey, the current usage of mobile phones and payment cards are added incentives for the country to be able to improve access to financial services to the unbanked and the underserved segment of the population.
She said to consolidate the positive gains that have been made so far from the various financial sector reforms undertaken, the development and implementation of a comprehensive financial inclusion strategy is a next logical step forward.
“It is worth noting that a good national strategy that would coordinate all financial inclusion activities, promote the adoption of financial product and services and enhanced financial consumers access to product and services and thereby driving inclusiveness is what we desire to see in the financial sector,” she noted.
She said she was very optimistic that the meeting would gather valuable contributions to help them complete the development of the strategy document.
A representative of the Ministry of Finance Mr Reynolds Boamah, in his welcome remarks stated that he was happy to see Ghana being part of the 60 countries that have initiated financial inclusion reforms in recent times.
According to him, the country must adopt a comprehensive approach to financial inclusion that would address key areas that includes access to products.
He stated that a comprehensive strategy would promote not only financial products but also the ability for customers to take advantage of them.
Mr Boamah used the opportunity to thank foreign partners who were helping to see that the strategy comes in place.