7 th Joint AU/ECA Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development REPORT ON POSTAL FINANCIAL SERVICES: Strategies to increase financial inclusion low-income populations in Africa 1

Outline Context Key findings Recommendations Expected decisions 2

Context of the Study 80% of the African adult population is un(der)banked Insufficient infrastructure for physical access to financial services and financial literacy are key barriers that hamper the financial inclusion 60% of the African Governments and/or African financial sector regulators have already published their commitments to and are active in improving financial inclusion 3

Context of the Study 60% of the African Governments and/or African financial sector regulators committed to improve financial inclusion African postal sector consists of 26,000 outlets of which 80% are located in remote and rural areas 10% of Africas adult population uses post offices. 4

Context of the Study Postal networks deliver an estimated 5% of the migrant remittances 5

Key findings of the Study Data on the role of the African postal networks in the provision of financial services are in most cases subsumed in standard reports on the financial sector Access to financial services is a key priority issue for poverty reduction in nearly all African countries and the 6

Key findings of the Study and existing 26,000 post offices can bridge the gap as a physical and public access infrastructure Progress is made in the provision of FS through the P.O and more than 85% of postal operators pursue diversification of services, mainly into financial services and ICT based consumer service 7

Key findings of the study The most relevant obstacles in the transformations include: Lack of capacity to expanding access to financial services via the postal networks. Limited access to finance for modernization Impact of Postal Universal Service Obligation 8

Key Recommendations P. O need to be seen as an existing specific component of the financial access infrastructure FS via P.O need to be controlled by the financial regulator in collaboration with the regulatory body in charge of postal sector, considering the specificity of postal financial services 9

Key Recommendations Diversity of the financial services offered via post offices Empowerment for financial inclusion via P.O needs to include the development of financial literacy of the un (der) banked; Legal form of the PFS to be reviewed to make them more viable, competitive and more customers oriented To include Financial Inclusion in a new designed legal and regulated framework of Universal Service Obligation. 10

Key Recommendations Need to include Financial Inclusion in a new designed legal and regulated framework of Universal Service Obligation. 11

Expected decisions from the Conference To take note of the study carried out by the African Union Commission on Strategies to increase the inclusion of Low-income populations; To recognize the substantial potential to provide access to a broader range of FS to more individuals via PFS; 12

Expected decisions from the Conference Integrate, include or prioritize the post in national strategies and agenda for financial inclusion 13

REPORT ON POSTAL FINANCIAL SERVICES 14 THANK YOU