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ITU Focus Group readies key deliverables to expand financial inclusion
Meeting addresses need to bring ‘mobile money’ to 2 billion unbanked people
Geneva, 13 December 2015 – The
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Focus Group on Digital Financial Services (FG DFS) will meet in
Geneva, 15-16 December, to progress its work to assist countries in establishing
financial-inclusion strategies capable of promoting widespread adoption of
digital financial services (DFS).
The group’s upcoming meeting will advance key deliverables
to improve the cooperation of ICT regulators and central banks, build greater
understanding of the responsibilities of the stakeholders comprising the DFS
ecosystem, and support DFS operators in their efforts to achieve service
interoperability.
Representatives of the Focus Group’s four work streams
will present their initial findings for consideration and consultation,
including:
-
A model ‘Memorandum of Understanding’
providing a template for information and communication technology (ICT)
regulators and central banks to define and outline joint objectives and means of
cooperation and collaboration
- A DFS ‘ecosystem map’ identifying and
explaining the respective responsibilities of the broad range of stakeholders
comprising the DFS ecosystem, particularly as they relate to the creation of a
suitable regulatory framework for DFS
- The content of an ‘interoperability toolkit’
to assist DFS operators in their efforts to achieve DFS interoperability, with
the ultimate aim of allowing users to make electronic payment transactions with
any other user in a convenient, affordable, fast, seamless and secure way, using
a single transaction account
ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao: “Digital financial
services have brought considerable benefits to millions of people. However, with
over 2 billion of the world’s population still unbanked, significant challenges
remain. As the United Nations specialized agency responsible for ICTs, ITU is
uniquely placed to overcome the many hurdles by bringing together a diverse
range of stakeholders to identify and drive solutions.”
Sacha Polverini from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
Chairman of the Focus Group said: “This meeting in Geneva is a key milestone in
our programme. For the past year, we have been looking at fostering dialogue to
develop a global framework based on international best practice that is flexible
enough to be adapted locally. These proposed deliverables are the first step in
a longer process that will chart a comprehensive roadmap by the end of 2016 to
help facilitate the growth of DFS around the world.”
The meeting of the Focus Group will be preceded by an ITU
Workshop on Digital Financial Services and Financial Inclusion on Monday, 14
December. The workshop will bring together financial and ICT regulators and
other DFS stakeholders to discuss consumer protection, interoperability, access
to infrastructure, and security and risk management.
Media Note: Press is invited to the DFS
workshop on 14 December. Entrance at ITU Tower Building. Video interviews will
be accessible in the
ITU
Newsroom. Please see
Media advisory for more information.
Notes to the Editor
In 2014, ITU established a dedicated Focus Group
incorporating 60 organizations from some 30 countries. The Focus Group has
created four thematic working groups covering the following areas: DFS
ecosystem; Technology; Innovation and Competition; Interoperability and Consumer
Experience & Protection. The group’s goal is to develop guidelines, principles
and toolkits based on international best practices, which will be adapted and
implemented by countries looking to capitalize on digital and mobile
technologies in their efforts to increase access to basic financial services for
people that today remain at the margin of society.
For more information please contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information,
ITU
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Marcus Pepperell
Sophia Lyscom
FTI Consulting
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