The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has rolled out an updated National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 2022-2028.
The NSFI is a blueprint for broad-based growth and financial resilience, and shows the collective commitment of the government, private sector, and civil society to push forward financial inclusion.
This builds on the gains of the first strategy launched in 2015 and takes into consideration the COVID-19 pandemic and rapid developments in financial services.
According to BSP, currently 41 million of adult Filipinos have access to basic bank accounts and e-money accounts as of the third quarter of last year.
The central bank said that its target to expand the number of the financially included to 70% of Filipino adults will be met by 2023 at this rate.
“The NSFI focuses on reducing disparities in financial inclusion; improving health and resilience; empowering consumers; and increasing access to finance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including startups, and the agriculture sector,”
said Benjamin E. Diokno, BSP’s Governor and Chairman of the Financial Inclusion Steering Committee (FISC).
The FISC is the interagency governing body that leads the collaborative approach in implementing the NSFI.
It will organise working groups to spearhead the implementation of NSFI priority initiatives, which include promoting inclusive digital finance; strengthening financial education and consumer protection; and enhancing risk protection, social safety nets, and the agriculture and MSME financing ecosystem.
