South Africa is championing a critical shift in global financial inclusion: moving beyond mere access to financial institutions but ensuring meaningful usage of these services.
This according to National Treasury’s Director of Financial Inclusion, Nontobeko Lubisi, who was speaking during a G20 outreach programme with institutions of higher learning.
The outreach programme shed light on South Africa’s presidency of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) which it took the mantle of when the country became G20 President last December.
“For our presidential priority for 2025, for the GPFI…we wanted to explore how we can move people from access to usage of financial products and services.
“We chose this particular presidential priority because we felt that it aligned very closely with the G20 theme of solidarity, equality and sustainability. It also then basically demonstrates the Minister of Finance’s commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in the financial services ecosystem globally,” Lubisi said.
She highlighted that although progress has been made to improve access to financial services, “we still have about 1.5 billion people globally that still lack bank accounts”.
“So, this then highlights the need for ongoing efforts to expand both excess and enhance the usage of financial services particularly in [the] global South countries where substantial gaps exist.
“We felt that this deliverable is crucial and it advances financial inclusion and aligns with the GPFI mandate of addressing the needs of both G20 and non-G20 countries. This particular presidential priority builds on the work that was started by Brazil in 2024, which actually focussed on…access through digital public infrastructure,” she said.
Lubisi explained what the focus and role of the GPFI is and how this impact countries.
“The GPFI efforts include helping countries to put into practise the G20 principles of innovative financial inclusion, strengthening data for measuring financial inclusion, as well as developing methodologies for countries that actually wish to set targets for financial inclusion.
“So…the work of the GPFI is executed via the Financial Inclusion Action Plan, which was then developed and currently we are on the second year of implementing that action plan as the presidency and it will then end next year with the US.
“However, what you see [in] how we’re working in the GPFI is that when a country is the president of the GPFI, you are then given an opportunity to come up with a financial inclusion related priority that you would basically prefer to elevate to during your presidential term,” Lubisi said.
For Africa, by Africans
Also speaking during the outreach programme, National Treasury Chief Director and G20 Lead, Marlon Geswint, emphasised government’s position that the impact of the South African Presidency of the G20 goes well beyond the country’s borders.
“South Africa is the only African country who is a member of the G20. The African Union [AU] was admitted to the G20 during the Indian presidency in 2023…but South Africa is the only African country.
“So therefore, we found it very important to ensure that our Presidency is not only a South African Presidency, but it’s an African Presidency. So that we can showcase the issues that are pertinent to Africa, and then we help find solutions to issues that Africa is grappling with.
“It is a very important feature of our Presidency, and it runs through the finance track and the Sherpa track. We are not just taking an inward-looking approach to say, this is all about South Africa, but…we have a responsibility to the continent because we are not operating in a vacuum and it's important that we also advance the African cause,” Geswint said. – SAnews.gov.za
