According to a release, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in partnership with Bank Alfalah, Standard Chartered Bank, and United Bank Limited, conducted an event named “Asian Digital Account: Breaking Barriers” on March 7, 2022.
Dr Reza Baqir, Governor of the SBP, was the primary guest. The event was held in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
Dr Baqir expressed optimism that the Asian Digital Account would help women overcome obstacles to financial inclusion by providing quicker, more affordable, efficient, and convenient solutions to their needs.
A digital account called the Asian Digital Account lets customers open a full-service bank account from anywhere, at any time. All they need is their computerised national identification card (CNIC) and no other verification.
The SBP governor hailed women’s achievements in a variety of professions and emphasised the critical role of women’s empowerment in the country’s socio-economic growth.
With men, gender differences don’t give women the same opportunities, rights, and responsibilities that men have in every area of life.
“However, International Women’s Day prompts us to pause and reflect on the systemic barriers that prevent women from pursuing their dreams,” he said, emphasising the importance of reflecting on and renewing the sense of ambition and transformative possibility surrounding gender equality in the financial services sector.
Dr Baqir said that in the past, women haven’t been able to get basic financial services like having a bank account because of barriers like a lot of paperwork, the location of bank branches, and the availability of good products. When these barriers were combined with restrictive social and cultural norms, women haven’t been able to get even basic financial services like having a bank account.
The central bank is removing these barriers and promoting financial inclusion for women through a variety of initiatives, including banking on equality policy, Roast, Pakistan’s first instant payment system, a comprehensive “Customers’ Digital Onboarding Framework” that enables convenient account opening, and Asian Mobile Account, which allows anyone with a simple feature phone to open and use an account by dialling *2262#.
Several programmes have been created by the SBP to help people get money for their businesses. These include the SBP Refinance and Credit Guarantee Scheme for women entrepreneurs, the SME Asian Finance or SAAF Initiative, and the Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme.
Dr Baqir said that these programmes were already overcoming gender divides between the financial industry and other sectors. He underlined, however, that more work need to be done and urged women to create bank accounts using the newly launched Asian Digital Account.
He told all banks to make it easier to open an account, make the value proposition more appealing to women, and publicise their features to reach more people.
Mehreen Ahmed, the head of Bank Alfalah, said that the bank has been helping women in many different parts of the economy become financially independent for a long time.
Bank Alfalah has been assisting women entrepreneurs in obtaining the initial financing necessary to launch new operations, as well as money to expand existing firms.
A bank CEO called Rehan Shaikh said that women are an important part of society and that they should be able to play a full and equal role in all parts of society.
He lauded the State Bank of Pakistan’s efforts in fostering an environment conducive to pushing the boundaries in this space. With the State Bank of Pakistan’s help, the banking industry is moving toward digital transformation, he said.
Shazad Dada, President and CEO of UBL, complimented the State Bank on the Asian Digital Account programme, praising its simplicity and accessibility to consumers throughout Pakistan, particularly those in unbanked areas.
The account is ideal for Pakistani women because it can be opened from anywhere and requires no branch visit to open or maintain.
The event included senior executives from financial organisations, significant female leaders, and famous personalities from a variety of fields.
At this event, SCB, UBL, and Bank Alfalah had set up stalls at this event where audience members could experience live account opening for Asian Digital Accounts.