EDITORIAL: Informal financial services should be boosted to fuel growth

Before 1994, access to banking facilities in Rwanda was the reserve of the privileged few. In fact, one local bank was so exclusive that it required a minimum Rwf 100,000 deposit to open an account. In today’s exchange rate, that could hover around the million franc mark. Taking into consideration that the highest civil service salary was Rwf 29,000, access to financial services for most was a pipe dream. To add insult to injury, a married woman could not operate a bank account without the approval of her spouse, so women were even much lower down the banking pecking order. But as the latest FinScope Survey shows, today it is a different story all together. 89% of adults now have access to financial services, the second on the continent after Mauritius. This translates into 5.2 million more people having been financially included since the last survey was conducted in 2012. Now the attention is shifting to the remaining 700,000. But despite the rosy picture painted by the survey, all is not yet smooth sailing with the current trending issue of high interest rates and still low presence in the formal banking sector. The consolation is that innovative financial services such as mobile banking and savings and credit cooperatives (Saccos) are plugging the loopholes. Going by the trend of things, financial inclusion will register higher ratings but it will require staying the course and putting more impetus in the informal financial sector among the rural population.

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EDITORIAL: Informal financial services should be boosted to fuel growth