Financial Inclusion in Asia-Pacific

The establishment of the OECD Asia-Pacific academy for tax and financial crime investigation

“…According to a report by VISA (2020), the following cities are described to rely on cash heavily: Dhaka, Bangladesh; Karachi, Pakistan; Hanoi, Vietnam; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Jakarta, Indonesia and Manila, The Philippines. The percentage of households who have bank accounts is less than 40 per cent in Myanmar and Nepal (Loukoianova and Yang, 2018). This implies that, in Myanmar and Nepal, many households would execute money transfer by cash outside of banks, and tax examiners and regulators could face difficulties in tracking money flows without third party information from banks.…”

Strategy for Fintech Applications in the Pacific Island Countries

“…The paper draws on elements of the Bali Fintech Agenda and uses fintech examples from less developed economies that might be feasible for the Pacific island country-specific context. The paper builds on the results of IMF research on financial inclusion (Loukoianova and others 2018) showing that small states are more likely to leapfrog 3 into new technologies. It also responds to the Samoa Commitment for the Pacific Islands by providing background analysis and a potential action plan on how to best leverage information technology to support development and financial inclusion.…”

“…Fintech can boost countries' efforts in promoting financial inclusion. The use of fintech should be an integral part of national financial inclusion strategies (Loukoianova and others 2018). The public and private sector should work together to enhance technological and financial literacy for everyone and pave the way for adoption of more advanced technological solutions.…”

“…See for exampleLoukoianova and others (2018) andJahan and others (2019) for background on the experience in Asia-Pacific economies and Sy and others (2019) in the context of African economies. STRATEGY FOR FINTECH APPLICATIONS IN THE PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES 8 ©International Monetary Fund.…”

Fintech and Financial Inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean

“…2019). 4 For example, "mobile money and mobile banking have emerged as powerful enablers of financial inclusion" in Asia-Pacific (Loukoianova and Yang 2018) and in Africa (IMF 2019). Focusing on LAC, Cantú and Ulloa (2020) argue that fintech has a clear potential to make a difference, but-owing to the relatively small footprint and lack of data-observing its impact on financial inclusion may be a challenge.…”