Through its Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility (FITAF), Universal Postal Union (UPU) has launched a digital financial services project to reach 800,000 people and businesses across Africa, Asia and the Pacific in 2019. The initiative focuses on advancing financial inclusion and the digitization of postal financial services.
In Africa, posts of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kiribati, Nauru, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tonga and Viet Nam would benefit first from the programme, according to UPU Director General’s Bishar A. Hussein.
According to the World Bank research, 1.7 billion adults have no access to proper financial services with one billion women excluded. The Post seems to be the perfect match for expanding financial inclusion with over 670,000 outlets reaching some of the world’s remotest areas.
The UPU was “acting concretely to develop digital finance through the Post on the ground to the benefits of the underserved populations and businesses,” says Hussein during UNCTAD’s Africa eCommerce Week in Nairobi.
“We are building partnerships with international donors and the private sector to support the Posts in their digital journey,” he added.
FITAF programme supports the building of Posts to provide digital financial services to reach anyone, anywhere, anytime and enabling SMEs to access the financial service they need to grow the economy. It is also in line with 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by leveraging the Post’s role as a public services provider.
Postal operators have lots to gain with this initiative – It will aid four postal operators build mobile financial solutions for payments, savings and insurance services, and five others to understand and explore the opportunities in digital finance.