Financial Inclusion Steering Committee set up

The FISC is an inter-agency body with three primary functions as follows:

(i) Providing strategic directions, policies, plans and solutions for development of financial inclusion;

(ii) Overseeing implementation of the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion;

(iii) Putting forward orientations on international cooperation in financial inclusion.

The Committee is chaired by PM Phuc and the Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam is vice chairman.

Members of the Committee comprise representatives of the Government Office, the State Bank of Viet Nam, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Information and Communication, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Labor-Invalids and Social Affairs, among others.

The State Bank of Viet Nam is the permanent body of the FISC.

According to the World Bank, financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs - transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance - delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.

Financial inclusion has been identified as an enabler for seven out of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals./.

By Huong Giang