More Papua New Guineans have access to banking services compared to few years ago says Central Bank Governor Loi Bakani.
He told Loop PNG that “since June 2015, 500,000 new accounts, half of them women have been opened.”
In 2013, Bank of PNG statistics shows that 81 percent of the population does not own a bank account which saw the launching of the ‘Financial Inclusion Strategy 2014-2015’ where the bank encourages commercial financial institution to open one million new accounts by end of 2015.
The proposed figure fell short, but an optimistic bank governor is adamant to achieve the full one million new account mark next year.
“We will launch the 2016-2017 strategy to achieve the one million figures.”
Bakani added that, the opening of the telecommunication sector has helped in bring financial services to people in the rural and urban areas alike.
“Digicel has been the main driver with now 90 percent of the country has mobile coverage.”
“We are partnering with commercial banks, micro banks, savings and loans societies, and other financial institutions to roll out the banking services.”
Mobile banking, electronic banking, rural banking, opening of children accounts are some example of new banking services used by financial institution to tap the unbanked population.