On the occasion of the Arab Day on Financial Inclusion on 27 April every year, the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) is pleased to announce the publication of a study on Digital Financial Services in the Arab Region.
This study has been developed to support the ongoing efforts of Arab policymakers to address Financial Inclusion challenges across the region and provide insights and strategic priorities for the Financial Inclusion for the Arab Region Initiative (FIARI) in the areas of payment aspects for financial inclusion. The study explored, among others, the rapid development and introduction of real-time retail payments systems (RTRPs), the emergence of powerful over-the-top payments providers, lowering the cost of transactions and enhancing the range of low-cost savings options. The study concluded with the potential impact of these trends on the development of Arab region payments infrastructures needs, by proposing some recommendations for Arab policymakers for consideration.
At this occasion, H.E Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Hamidy, Director General Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) highlights that inclusive financial sector is a catalyst for sustainable development in the Arab world and is essential to reduce the vulnerability of low-income households, and to encourage the growth of small and medium-sized companies, which further contributes to reducing unemployment. Moreover, H.E Dr. Al-Hamidy stresses the need to increase the focus on the potential for RegTech and SupTech on the area of digital financial services and ensure balancing financial inclusion technology-led transformation, consumer literacy and safeguards, and financial stability.
An electronic version of the paper is available on www.amf.org.ae.
© Press Release 2018
