Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Barry Whiteside: Fiji’s Financial Inclusion Goals

Excellency, Ms Litia Mawi, Roving Ambassador for Fiji

Mr Mark Flaming, Manager , Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP)

Mr Eliki Boletawa, Head of Policy, Programmes & Regional Initiatives, Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI)

Permanent Secretaries and CEOs Senior Government Officials Colleagues

Ladies and Gentlemen

Ni sa Bula Vinaka and a very good morning to you all!

Welcome

We are honoured to have so many Government officials here today and it is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to this workshop, which has been jointly organised by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) and the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

On behalf of the Reserve Bank and the National Financial Inclusion Taskforce I wish to also express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Alliance for Financial Inclusion and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, for their continuing commitment and support of financial inclusion in Fiji.

Introduction

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me begin by explaining why we have invited you here today. The key objective of this Workshop is to further engage Government and cultivate a truly broad based commitment to financial inclusion initiatives for Fiji.

In one sentence, financial inclusion is all about providing relevant and affordable financial services and, importantly, the accompanying knowledge, to all our people, to enable them to improve their lives and wellbeing.

Financial Inclusion is a key ingredient in Fiji’s current 5- and 20-year National Development Plans which promote “A Better Fiji for All”.

As stated in the Plans, “A Better Fiji for All” means more employment opportunities, a decrease in income inequalities and significant reduction in poverty, empowerment of women, and greater social and economic progress in the less-developed regions of our country – all leading to a better balance in our rural and urban livelihoods.

All these issues are aligned to the strategic goals of our soon-to-be launched second National Financial Inclusion Strategic Plan (2016 – 2020), of which you will hopefully hear more during the course of today.

To put things in perspective, allow me to briefly share some key outcomes of Fiji’s recent financial inclusion journey. Some of you may already be aware of the developments and achievements which have already been implemented, but for others, this may help you to connect the dots.

Fiji – financial inclusion journey

Prior to 2009, very little was known about financial inclusion in Fiji and it wasn’t something that was going anywhere in great leaps and bounds!

For the Reserve Bank, our financial inclusion journey really began in 2009 with the establishment of a new group within the Bank to provide more focus on financial systems development. In November of that year the Reserve Bank, together with the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, hosted the first National Microfinance Workshop, which brought together many of the key stakeholders who were to play important roles in contributing to, and driving, financial inclusion.

An important outcome of this initial workshop was the first 5-year National Financial Inclusion Strategy for Fiji (2010-2014), from which the current financial inclusion policy framework was adopted.

Since then a collaborative approach has always been taken, with the establishment of the National Financial Inclusion Taskforce and its four working groups (covering financial products and services, financial literacy, data and inclusive insurance). This model provided a platform for effective collaboration between all stakeholders who agreed to make financial inclusion work in Fiji. Getting the buy-in of our stakeholders (including financial institutions, government agencies, mobile network operators, civil society and donors) was a critical first step in the process. This approach, I believe, has been instrumental to the success of most of our financial inclusion efforts.

Some of the significant achievements which contributed to the meeting of our agreed targets from that first strategic plan, which ended last year, include:

• the integration of financial education (FinED) into the school curriculum at both primary and secondary levels (the Education Department, together with PFIP, obviously played a major role, for which we are very grateful);
• the introduction of mobile money (through the mobile network operators);
• the implementation of policies for commercial banks: which included the setup of microfinance units to extend financial services to the poor and low income households and to micro and small enterprises; and branchless banking guidelines for reliable and sustainable delivery of financial services to communities where there is no bank presence;
• the continuous public awareness, financial literacy and community outreach through the national microfinance awards and financial inclusion expositions around the country; and
• the establishment of financial inclusion indicators and geo-spatial mapping of financial access points for monitoring of coverage and financial inclusion initiatives.

Notwithstanding the success of our journey so far, we recognise that there is still a lot to be done to ensure the ongoing effectiveness and sustainability of the initiatives that have been put in place. In this regard, we are now embarking on our second Financial Inclusion Strategy which will bring more of the underserved population into the formal sector by improving access and the actual usage of financial products and services. This will empower households and communities to effectively contribute to poverty reduction, improved quality of life and be agents for economic growth.

Why financial inclusion is important to government?

Ladies and Gentlemen, financial exclusion can impose significant costs on individuals, families and our society as a whole and tackling financial exclusion requires actions across a range of areas and of key stakeholders, especially Government departments.