ISLAMABAD - Financial inclusion in Pakistan has increased by 9 percentage points between 2020 and 2022, while a similar increase in financial inclusion was achieved over 7 years prior to the year 2020, said the Karandaaz Financial Inclusion Survey 2022 (KFIS).
Karandaaz Pakistan on Thursday hosted a webinar to share key findings of a nationally and provincially representative demand-side survey tracking financial inclusion in the country. The 2022 edition of the survey focuses on customer’s awareness and knowledge of key facets of interoperability in the financial services market.
Chairperson Karandaaz, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar said that the latest edition of the K-FIS showed that financial inclusion in Pakistan increased by 9 percentage points between 2020 and 2022. Mobile money has been a key driver of this push, with registered mobile money users having more than doubled from 9 percent to 19 percent of adult Pakistanis”.
She added that the 2022 edition of the survey also covers, for the first time, sample populations from of ICT, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), all of which have financial inclusion rates that are above the national average. But the findings also show significant and chronic gaps regarding the inclusion of women, rural populations and across provinces – where financial inclusion in Punjab, ICT, AJK and GB exceeds 30 percent, in Balochistan it does not even reach 15 percent, with the financial inclusion of women being as low as 5 percent. Inequality in the provision of financial services means, that pockets of Pakistan’s citizenry remain un-serviced. This is no longer acceptable. The K-FIS therefore, is a step in the right direction.
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Director Agri Finance and Financial Inclusion Department, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Noor Ahmed in his keynote address stated that: “Over the years, there has been significant progress on financial inclusion. Key initiatives such as RAAST have been transformative in furthering the inclusion of the marginalized”. He said since 2007, microfinance clients have increased from 0.5 million to 8 million and account ownership has increased from 60 million to 150 million with approximately 80 million unique accounts.
However, to realize the goals of the NIFS, key challenges and barriers will need to be addressed. While account ownership has expanded, there are a substantial number of inactive accounts. This indicates that accessibility and service providers need to be supplemented with awareness building, behaviour change initiatives and developing financial literacy among clients, he added.
Counsellor and Group Head (Economy & Trade) at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO ) Mahesh Mishra said, “Access to suitable and affordable financial services is a powerful tool to help poor people work their way out of poverty. I congratulate Karandaaz on successful completion of the 2022 Financial Inclusion Survey in Pakistan. I hope K-FIS will provide data and insights the policy makers, regulators, and private sector need in supporting the expansion of financial access in Pakistan.”
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In her closing remarks, Member National Assembly Dr. Nafisa Shah displayed detailed and nuanced understanding of financial inclusion, stating that financial inclusion is a powerful lever and can open up opportunities for vulnerable and excluded segments of the country’s citizenry.
She urged Karandaaz to include qualitative aspects in subsequent editions of the survey in addition to the extensive quantitative metrics already covered in the KFIS. Dr. Shah also stated that the significance of financial inclusion is not fully comprehended among policy circles and this survey should be presented to policy makers to enable adequate understanding and suitable actions by political leaders and representatives.