Financial Services Pillar of the ASEAN Economic Integration Programme

Description

The FSp aims to enable greater financial resilience and economic opportunities for individuals and businesses in AMS through wider availability of useful and affordable financial services, particularly for MSMEs and women (‘financial inclusion ’).   Financial inclusion is uneven among AMS, with some countries still having a persistently high percentage of adults without an account at a financial institution. Digitalisation of the sector is improving access to and use of financial services across ASEAN, but barriers remain, and these can be higher for women and MSMEs. Barriers in some AMS include low financial or digital literacy, lack of trust / gaps in consumer protection, shallow capital markets and limited access to international payments.  The intended outcome of the FSp is that AMS adopt and implement ASEAN-led policy recommendations and reforms that promote financial inclusion in the region. The programme will do this by providing expert support to ASEAN and AMS.