Financial inclusion efforts gets $1 million boost from Credit Bureau Cambodia

Financial inclusion efforts gets $1 million boost from Credit Bureau Cambodia

The financial inclusion is a strong enabler of addressing economic growth, said Chea Serey, Chairwoman of CBC. The CBC’s support shall bring synergy in NBC’s initiatives in driving financial inclusion in the country.

The Credit Bureau Cambodia (CBC) has announced commitment of $1 million in support of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) to promote and strengthen financial inclusion over the next five years in Cambodia.

In a statement issued on Friday, the five-year strategic plan with commitment of $1 million is to closely work with the local community to support the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2019-2025 cantered on initiatives around Responsible Lending, Gender-inclusive Access to Finance and Financial Education.

The CBC will support the initiatives of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and join hands with financial sector ecosystem players in the country to further strengthen progress on financial inclusion, the CBC said, added that strengthening reporting and supporting responsible lending through expansion of coverage of reporting financial institutions will be a key focus area under the plan.

Additionally, enabling women’s access to finance, promoting financial literacy on credit reporting, digital finance education and consumer protection will be priority areas.

According to the CBC, about 59 percent of Cambodians do not have access to formal financial services whereas 29 percent of adult Cambodians are completely excluded from access to formal as well as informal finance.

Priority activities in NFIS 2019-2025 include promotion of innovative credit products, consumer empowerment and protection, financial sector transparency, among others aiming to reduce financial exclusion of women by half from 27 percent to 13 percent and increase usage of formal financial services from 59 percent to 70 percent by 2025.

The financial inclusion is a strong enabler of addressing country’s economic growth and reducing inequality, said Dr. Chea Serey, Chairwoman of CBC, continuing that as a key financial infrastructure in the country, CBC’s support shall bring synergy in NBC’s initiatives in driving financial inclusion in the country.

“CBC’s support areas shall help further improve inclusive and efficient credit markets, minimise transaction costs and reduce consumer vulnerabilities,” she said.

CBC manages the most comprehensive credit reporting system in the country covering credit histories of more than 7 million borrowers from more than 170 member financial institutions under the Prakas on Credit Reporting from the NBC which enables lenders to quickly check credit histories of borrowers without which the whole decision process becomes very lengthy and tedious.

By filling this information gap and significantly reducing transaction costs, CBC has been serving the country as one of the most important enablers of financial inclusion.

Oeur Sothearoath, Chief Executive Officer of CBC had earlier in December, during the ‘Dissemination Workshop on Implementation of Financial Inclusion Strategy 2019-2025’and official launch of ‘Let’s Talk Money: Little by Little Campaign’ said that one of the major barriers to financial inclusion is information asymmetry between lender and borrower. First and foremost, CBC manages the most comprehensive credit reporting system in the country under the Prakas on Credit Reporting from the National Bank of Cambodia which enables lenders to quickly check credit histories of borrowers without which the whole decision process becoming very lengthy and tedious.

“Promoting financial literacy is a key priority for CBC. We actively support the initiatives of the National Bank of Cambodia as well as collaborate with the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC), Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) as well as other international financial institutions to promote financial literacy which further promotes financial inclusion,” he said. Khmer Times