A new women’s debit card was launched yesterday by MiBank.
The Hibiscus Card is specifically for women only and is a way of promoting financial inclusion as reflected in PNG’s international financial inclusion obligations under the Maya Declaration.
According to MiBank, women are not proportionally represented in the customer base of the banking and financial services sector.
MiBank’s manager for digital financial services, Genevieve Daniels, said women make up to 80 percent of the purchasing decisions and up to 33 percent of private enterprise globally are owned by women.
The importance placed on financial inclusion for women is illustrated by commitments made by PNG through Bank of PNG and Centre for Excellence and Financial Inclusion.
“We at MiBank recognise the barriers to access for women and we make no apologies for positively discriminating in favour of women, in order to bring them in to the formal financial sector. We understand the multiplier effect of investing in women with improved household outcomes in health and education,” said Daniels.
The Hibiscus Card will enable women to access a range of services including;
- Access a network of 12 MiBank branches and 85 agents throughout PNG
- Access MiBank’s Digital Wallet called MiCash
- Access BSP’s network of ATM’s and EFTPOS merchants nationwide
- Existing agreement between MiBank and BSP
In addition to the broad access women will also enjoy;
- No account opening fee
- No monthly service charge
- Higher than normal interest rates on balance of funds and many more advantages