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ZIMBABWE is aiming to increase access to banking services from an estimated 30 percent to 90 percent of the population by 2020, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said.
Under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy launched on Friday, the central bank said it was targeting mainly the rural population, small-holder farmers, micro and small to medium enterprises, women and youth.
The groups account for the bulk of the economically active population. Central bank governor John Mangudya said the majority of the country’s population was currently relying on informal financial service providers “who are often inefficient, inadequate and very costly.”
“I’m convinced that this framework will help households improve their livelihoods and transform the economy,” the RBZ governor said.
“Our ultimate goal is to have a national financial inclusion of up to 90 percent by the year 2020. Its achievable and we must do it.”
On the whole, the strategy aims to increase access to banking, micro-finance, insurance and capital markets and is anchored on financial innovation, financial literacy, consumer protection and microfinance. Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said improving financial inclusion would not only boost the country’s savings but assist the majority of the population to access funding which will enable them to exploit available business opportunities.
“Because of the shifting structure of our economy from formal to informal, banks cannot afford to be left behind in this new economy,” he said.
“To do so will be to bury your heads in the sand.”
He said experts had identified financial inclusion as a critical engine for economic growth.
“Through financial inclusion we wish to unlock opportunities for many stakeholders especially women and youth,” he said.
He encouraged banks to come up with instruments that attract rather than repel potential clients from using formal banking systems.
Among such measures was reducing bank charges and awarding interests on deposits unlike the current situation where depositors were almost being penalised for keeping money in the banks through high service charges.
“Financial inclusion helps the nation to diversify the economy and boost other sectors. The country will have more resources to invest in various sectors of the economy,” Chinamasa said.
The Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, Patrick Zhuwao compared the country’s banking institutions to dinosaurs due to their failure to quickly adopt new technologies to attract population categories such as the youth to use banking systems.
Dinosaurs are legendary animals said to have become extinct due to their failure to adapt to a new environment. Youth account for about 52 percent of the population but less than 10 percent of them are banked.- New Ziana
Online Reporter