Banking sector to foster digital finances in Laos
Banking sector to foster digital finances in Laos
The Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is working together with the aim of fostering access to digital finance services in Laos.
To achieve the target, BOL and UNCDF jointly organised a consultant workshop as they launched the first digital finance working group, which attracted a number of participants from various telecom companies, banks and government and non-government sectors.
The gathering is paving the way for BOL to accept applications from banks and non-banks who aspire to conduct pilot projects in the areas of branchless banking and mobile money services.
BOL's Director General of the Financial Institution Supervision Department Dr Akhom Praseuth chaired yesterday's consultant meeting.
He noted at the meeting that this was the first digital finance working group with the support of the UNCDF in-country ‘Making Access to Finance more Inclusive for Poor People (MAFIPP)' and the global programme Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P).
“These programmes are actively engaged in creating an environment where Laos permits and promotes digital finance services as a means to achieve financial inclusion for the majority of Lao people,” he said.
“We acknowledge the power of using new technologies to deliver financial services and are now engaged in discussion with both banks and non-banks to foster this innovation here in Laos,” Dr Akhom said.
Currently digital financial services has begun its implementation across the world as a way to bring financial services to underserved populations and to improve social security through a secure savings instrument.
According to the outlook of the bank and its development partners, it aims to see a number of more than 250,000 regular users of digital financial services in Laos by the end of 2017.
However the implementation of digital financial services is not only targeting access to the financial services in Laos alone but it is also part of its endeavour to be ready for the Asean Economic Community integration by 2015.
A senior official from BOL also said that Laos enjoys steady growth among telecom companies however the mobile banking service will be a key factor for rural people.
“Necessity for developing the DFS is absolutely important to provide facilities and to improve the livelihoods of people,” he said.
MAFIPP on-site expert consultant Mr David Kleiman also said “Up to now, there has been a great deal of research, study tours and field visits to understand how Laos may benefit from digital financial services and what shape they may take.
“This working group will allow operators, banks and non-banks, to integrate that knowledge into active implementation,” Kleiman said.
According to the 2014 statistics, currently a total of 35 banks are registered with BOL with 87 branches and 407 service units nationwide.
