MEDIA RELEASE
Vanuatu to bank 76,000 people by 2015
Stakeholders met in Port Vila on August 9-10 and agreed to work together to provide responsive financial services and
financial literacy to 76,000 previously un-banked and underserved people in Vanuatu by the end of 2015. Attendees of the
National Financial Inclusion Strategy Workshop, organized by the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu, included a wide cross section
of government, private sector, NGO and development partner representatives. The gathering reached consensus on an action
agenda that included a 3-point strategy that will:
i. Strengthen national coordination and monitor progress through the formation of a multi-stakeholder National Financial
Inclusion Taskforce;
ii. Conduct research on financial access and demand, with emphasis on financial competency, microinsurance and
increasing outreach to women and youth, and;
iii. Enhance financial literacy and consumer protection by introducing financial education in schools and strengthening
legislation on client protection and market conduct.
In his opening statement the Minister for Finance and Economic Management, Honorable Moana Carcassses Kalosil, said that 81% of the population of
Vanuatu have no access to basic financial services such as savings accounts, credit or insurance services.
He went on to say, “I strongly believe that the challenge of financial services access and the empowerment of women and
low income groups will be achieved by effective work partnership and cooperation between the Reserve Bank, financial
institutions, the government, development partners and all other relevant institutions.”
In his keynote address, Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Governor Odo Tevi emphasized that financial inclusion requires
innovative thinking, and that all stakeholders in the economy have a role to play in this. He also recognized the
importance of empowering and protecting clients to enable them to make the right decisions in an increasingly complex
monetized economy.
“The Reserve Bank is currently working with other related Government ministries on this. It is highly expected that the
application of a proper consumer protection mechanism will enhance confidence and trust and encourage low-income earners
and rural dwellers to access readily-available financial services,” Governor Tevi said.
Governor Tevi noted that the RBV stood ready and committed to promote a coordinated partnership approach between
stakeholders to enhance efficiency and to achieve greater financial inclusion in Vanuatu. The Governor also thanked all
the national stakeholders for their active participation and acknowledged the support of the Pacific Financial Inclusion
Programme (PFIP), Alliance for Financial Inclusion and AusAID. The Asian Development Bank together with the Deputy
Governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands also shared their respective experience with participants.
This workshop to prepare the medium term financial inclusion strategy for Vanuatu is the first for the country and the
third in the Pacific, after Fiji and Solomon Islands, also supported by PFIP.
PFIP is a Pacific-wide programme helping to provide sustainable financial services to low income households. It is a
joint project of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has
received additional funding support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the European
Union. The programme is based at the UNDP Pacific Centre in Suva Fiji
Ends.