Economy - Management RESEARCH - DISCUSSION

NATIONAL STRATEGY ON FINANCIAL

INCLUSION ASIA AND IMPLICATIONS FOR VIETNAM
Pham Thi Anh Phuong *

Abstract: In recent years, countries around the world have paid attention to
financial inclusion to develop a financial system serving all members of the society,
supplying convenient and suitable services at reasonable charges to all individuals
and businesses, contributing to national sustainable development. Financial
inclusion has received due attention of many countries, including Vietnam.
The Vietnamese Government has paid special attention to this issue and tasked
relevant ministries and sectors to build a national financial inclusion strategy. The
experience of Asian countries will help Vietnam build and implement the strategy
in the coming years.
Keywords: financial inclusion; financial services, investment capital, insurance.

1. National financial, inclusion households to grasp economic chances

strategies: view from Asia and handle changes. Once the finance is
Financial inclusion is regarded as assured, low-income earners are able to
one of essential factors in sustainable invest in income-generating activities,
development. For many decades, it has save and manage finance better and to
been the common vision of the whole be more safely accessible to financial
world in the mission of hunger eradication, transfer from their relatives. This enables
poverty reduction, approaching a stable, them to accumulate their assets safely,
justified and prosperous society where all escape from hunger and poverty trap, and
people can enjoy achievements brought improve their life and welfare. Financial
by economic developments. Financial inclusion allows households to improve
inclusion is the supply of financial their economic achievements and build
services convenient and appropriate for up human resources by investing in
individuals and organizations, especially healthcare and education, ultimately
with the low-income and the vulnerable assisting fair, sustainable growth and
to increase opportunities of financial social and income injustice reduction.
access, helping to create livelihood According to the World Bank (WB)’s
opportunities, accelerate investment research, countries with national strategies
flows and savings in the society, leading on financial inclusion have a higher level
to higher economic growth. Access to of financial inclusion than those applying
financial services such as savings, credit, financial inclusion without strategies.
insurance and money transfer allows WB and Alliance of Financial Inclusion

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(AFI) confirm that national strategies on According to statistics, by early

financial inclusion will establish a system 2016, 58 of 95 state members of AFI had
of component strategies, action plans committed to the Maya Declaration. This
united in social hierarchy, from the central figure accounted for 61% of members of
to the local, creating close cooperation AFI and 54% of people without a bank
among participants. At the same time, account in the world. Of the 58 countries,
it will make use of available resources 31 have applied financial inclusion and
systematically, reduce costs and converge 27 are preparing for it.. Over the past five
resources in the process of implementing years, the number of countries following
financial inclusion among related parties. this policy has surged six times.

Since 2010 when financial inclusion become one of financial cooperation

pillars in APEC, it has received increasingly bigger attention and been tapped in
many aspects by APEC economies to maximize cooperative mechanisms, and draw
practical lessons. The ultimate goal is to build and effectively implement a national
strategy on financial inclusion appropriate to each country, contributing to hunger
eradication and poverty reduction, and improvement of people’s quality of life.

ASEAN considers financial inclusion infrastructure and strong systems to

as one of the three main pillars of gather data for the national strategy on
ASEAN Vision 2025 in terms of financial financial inclusion; (iii) disseminating
integration. This organization set up the knowledge about finance and securities
ASEAN Working Committee on Financial and analyzing gaps to identify areas for
Inclusion (WC-FINC) in order to stimulate interference; (iv) building draft strategies
regional initiatives to improve the level of and establishing strategic partnership
financial inclusion in ASEAN. In the past, relationship with related parties to assess
ASEAN countries discussed and drew feedbacks; (v) implementing strategies
experience lessons from other countries and transmitting expectations to related
on specific challenges and solutions to parties; (vi) supervising and evaluating
financial inclusion improvement impacts on measurable objectives.
At present, member countries have In its national strategy on financial
much experience in building national inclusion, the Philippines focuses on 6
strategies on financial inclusion. For letters, including:
instance, in terms of disseminating - C (Consultation): Consultation and
knowledge about finance, one of important coordination are important for related
factors to form financial inclusion, parties’ participation, for ownership and
Malaysia regularly opens training courses assistance;
on benefits shared by related parties. - L (Leadership): Leadership assistance
Malaysia identifies 6 necessary steps and secretarial work are necessary to
to build strong strategies, including: ensure the interaction and sustainability;
(i) identifying institutional vision and - I (Implementation): Implementation
expecting results of the national strategy of the national strategy on financial
on financial inclusion; (ii) building inclusion needs participation,

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commitment and resources of the main Especially, for the Asia-Pacific

related parties; Economic Cooperation (APEC), since
- M (Measurement): Measurement 2011 the forum on financial inclusion
and supervision are in need to guarantee of APEC has been held annually to
accountability, as well as to monitor share management experience and
schedule and identify achieved objectives best initiatives, solutions, and policies,
promptly; stimulating financial inclusion of member
- B (Building): Building the national economies. The forum has appealed to
strategy on financial inclusion seems to be the interest of important organizations
easy, but maintaining its implementation such as the International Monetary Fund
turns out more difficult. (IMF), the Organization of Economic and
In Indonesia, the national strategy Cooperative Development (OECD), Asian
on financial inclusion concentrates on 5 Development Bank (ADB), GE, IFC,
pillars, including: CGAP, JICA, PERC, BWTP, ADFIAP,
- Financial education: this pillar aims APPC, CAM,…
to: (i) improve public knowledge and For financial inclusion, APEC
awareness of official financial institutions, continues researching a range of financial
financial products and services, including strategies applicable for APEC’s members
features, benefits and risks, cost, rights or used as an international practice so
and duties; (ii) improve the community that each member is able to use and
skills in financial plans and management. establish their own strategy. In the APEC
- Public ownership: this pillar aims to Year 2017 in Vietnam, one of the major
expand credit guarantee for better access themes discussed was financial inclusion
to official credits. and its role for the rural agricultural
- Financial mediation and distribution development.
channel: this pillar aims to expand the range 2. Implications for Vietnam
of financial services to meet the needs For many years, the Vietnamese
of different social segments: products, government has regularly paid attention
services and creative distribution channels to developing financial inclusion via
(i.e. digital financial services, agent banks, issuing such fundamental regulations
mobile banks, car banks, mobile ATMs, and policies as the scheme on developing
and infrastructure assistance). Financial cashless payment applied since 2016 and
products meet the needs easily and safely. now in stage 3 (2016-2020) through the
- Financial services in public Decision No. 2545 dated 30/12/2016
sector: this pillar aims to improve by the Prime Minister; the project on
the administration and clearance in building and developing the micro-
distributing the state budget, as well as finance system in Vietnam to 2020;
grant distribution in cash. the project on improving the ability to
- Protection for consumers: this pillar access banking services of the economy
aims to provide a safe feeling to community to 2020; improving the ability to high-
in the interaction with financial inclusion quality fundamental banking services at
and use of financial products, services and reasonable expense meeting demands of
payment systems. the majority of adults and businesses,
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especially demands of residents in rural service providers; (iii) consumers are

and remote areas. finance-conscious and fully protected by
The Vietnamese government has law systems. The pillars will cover many
realized the necessity of setting up a particular solutions to the objectives.
national strategy on full finance as basis The assessment on the strategy receives
to stimulate the financial inclusion attention to assure its success.
effectively and systematically in the Accordingly, the prioritized contents
coming years. The State Bank of Vietnam involve building, completing legal
has been assigned by the Prime Minister framework, development of financial
to play a decisive and coordinative role infrastructure, technology for product
in financial inclusion in Vietnam to push diversity, financial services and building
this area up in the coming time. In the a scheme to protect consumers and
past, the State Bank had many activities, financial education. Among them, a
especially mobilizing external resources special attention is paid to vulnerable
through conferences and conventions to stakeholders, such as micro, small- and
exchange experience with other countries medium-sized enterprises, the rural
and organizations for this process. At poor and women to help them to have
present, the State Bank is building a draft a better and more effective access to
frame of the national strategy on financial finance and banking services. At the same
inclusion and will submit it for the Prime time, coordination mechanisms have
Minister’s approval in 2020. Besides, a been built up to mobilize all resources
lot of experience from the APEC finance to effectively implement financial
ministers’ meetings has been examined to inclusion (management bodies, credit
put into the national strategy. organizations, socio-political institutions,
The objectives of the national private sector…).
strategy on financial inclusion in Vietnam According to Lê Phương Lan, and
are expected to ”guarantee that all Nguyễn Thị Hương Thanh, MA. (2017),
Vietnamese adults and businesses can financial inclusion has been included
access and use fundamental financial in many big decisions and policies
products and services convenient and of Vietnam and building the national
suitable with their demands at reasonable financial inclusion strategy is a systematic
expense, supplied by safe, effective, and summary of what the government has
responsible financial service providers.” done, and will supplement what has not
The strategy’s content is based on 3 been reached with detailed criteria and
pillars, including: (i) a sustainable consistent objectives to be gained. Once
financial infrastructure which facilitates issued, the national strategy will become
a wide variety of products, services, a strong commitment of the Vietnamese
modern channels; (ii) a system of safe, government to pursuing long term goals
effective, and responsible financial to push up sustainable development./.

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References:

1. Lê Phương Lan, MA., Nguyễn Thị Hương Thanh, MA. ‘National Strategy on
Financial inclusion in Vietnam – Meanings and Necessities. Website on information
about Banking Science and Technology
2. The State Bank of Vietnam. (2017). Financial inclusion in Vietnam –
Opportunities and Challenges
3. Website of Forum of APEC on Financial inclusion in Vietnam:
https://www.apec2017.vn/ap17-c/gallery/asia-pacific-forum-financial-inclusion
1. Website of The World Bank:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview;
5. Website: datatopics.worldbank.org, afi-global.org,sbv.gov.vn

CHIẾN LƯỢC TOÀN DIỆN TÀI CHÍNH QUỐC GIA

TẠI CHÂU Á VÀ HÀM Ý CHO VIỆT NAM
Phạm Thị Ánh Phượng *

Tóm tắt: Những năm gần đây, tài chính toàn diện đã được quan tâm trên phạm vi
toàn cầu với mục tiêu phát triển hệ thống tài chính phục vụ cho tất cả các thành viên
trong xã hội, cung cấp các dịch vụ phù hợp và thuận tiện với chi phí hợp lý cho mọi cá
nhân và doanh nghiệp, qua đó góp phần vào sự phát triển bền vững của quốc gia. Tài
chính toàn diện được rất nhiều quốc gia chú trọng, trong đó có Chính phủ Việt Nam.
Chính phủ đặc biệt quan tâm và đã giao các bộ, ngành xây dựng Chiến lược Quốc gia
về Tài chính toàn diện. Những kinh nghiệm của các quốc gia châu Á sẽ góp phần hỗ
trợ cho Việt Nam trong việc xây dựng và triển khai chiến lược quốc gia về tài chính
toàn diện trong thời gian tới.
Từ khóa: Tài chính toàn diện, dịch vụ tài chính, vốn đầu tư, bảo hiểm.

Ngày nhận bài: 01/01/2019

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