Boosting financial inclusion and promoting an inclusive digital economy in Morocco

Services financiers  : During her visit to Morocco, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands promoted the progress made by Morocco in terms of financial inclusion and highlighted the priority projects to succeed in the bet of green finance and digitalization.

“It’s time for Morocco to create a digital payment ecosystem”. A recommendation made by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands during a press briefing held on Wednesday March 22 in Rabat with Abdellatif Jouahri, wali of Bank Al-Maghrib. Present for the first time in the Kingdom in her capacity as Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations for the promotion of financial services accessible to all that promote development (UNSGSA), Queen Màxima was welcomed earlier in the day by HRH Princess Lalla Meryem and has met since her arrival on Monday March 20 with several government officials headed by Aziz Akhannouch as well as key leaders from the private and financial sector. This three-day visit was an opportunity for the UNSGSA Special Representative to promote the progress made by Morocco in terms of financial inclusion as well as to highlight the priority projects to succeed in the challenge of green finance and digitalization. Emphasis was thus placed on how to boost digital payments and develop fintechs as well as on the role of financial services in strengthening resilience and adaptation to climate risks.

The projects advocated by the UNSGSA Special Representative

During her press briefing with the Wali of Bank Al-Maghrib, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands discussed several areas, including possible ways to stimulate financial inclusion and promote a digital economy at the national level. The UNSGSA Special Representative listed three key elements. First, let’s mention the digitization of all payments. It is thus a matter of digitizing state payments to individuals and vice versa. There is also talk of digitizing payments to small businesses and merchants. This will facilitate entry into the formal financial system and the possibility of benefiting from a wider range of financial services, particularly for women and low-income groups benefiting from social protection. In this regard, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands called for the development of digital culture.

The ambition is to mitigate the risks associated with new technologies. The UNSGSA Special Representative also considered that Morocco might benefit from the adaptation of existing financial policies in order to support the resilience of households and small businesses to growing climate shocks, thus strengthening the leadership role played by the Kingdom. in inclusive green finance. “By enabling the public and private sectors to develop the appropriate business models, we can help design and deliver innovative fintech products and services that people really need,” said Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Low while insisting on the need to reduce the gap between urban and rural areas and the gap between men and women in terms of access to financial services. Indeed, the gap between men and women in terms of financial inclusion has remained almost identical to its 2017 level. It stands at 23%, i.e. 56% of men vs 33% of women with a bank account in Morocco in 2021. Note that despite the progress made in terms of financial inclusion, 15 million adults in Morocco are still unbanked to date. Commenting on this figure, the UNSGSA Special Representative says it means there are still no safe ways for these people to save for school fees or health emergencies or buy insurance to protect themselves. once morest natural disasters, especially for farmers and low-income households.

Mobile payment and fintechs at the heart of BAM’s new strategic plan

For Abdellatif Jouahri, the visit of Queen Maxima of the Netherlands comes at the right time as 2023 marks the end of the implementation of the current strategic plan of the central bank in which financial inclusion and digital are essential chapters. Bank Al-Maghrib is currently working on the development of a new roadmap that will take into account all the elements to improve the objectives of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (SNIF) as well as the tools and procedures to succeed. its implementation. “The results of the implementation of the national financial inclusion strategy are relatively positive,” said Mr. Jouahri in this regard, indicating that levers remain to be activated to achieve the expected objectives within the time limits. Emphasis should therefore be placed on the operationalization of Mobile Banking. Despite the 8 million M-wallets created and the incentives put in place, the local ecosystem has still not been reached in its fullness, believes the wali of Bank Al-Maghrib. The commitment is to strengthen the confidence of traders in order to play their role in this sphere. It is also recommended to change culture in order to ensure optimal development of the fintech ecosystem and catch up on the delay observed at this level.

This imperative will also be taken into account in the next strategic plan of Bank Al-Maghrib. In this regard, the central bank reiterates its readiness to collaborate with institutions to promote innovative start-ups in the financial and banking sectors. Moreover, synergies are created between Bank Al-Maghrib, the Deposit and Guarantee Fund (CDG), the ministry responsible for digital transition and administrative reform and the Digital Development Agency (ADD). The purpose being to converge the efforts of the various stakeholders as well as to achieve benchmarks in order to determine the incentives to give birth to this ecosystem of fintechs, guarantee its success and therefore contribute to the ambitions of financial inclusion formulated by Morocco in as part of its national strategy. Recall that in 2021, 44% of Moroccan adults have access to formal financial services via a traditional bank or a mobile money account (6%), thus marking a positive development compared to 2017 when this rate did not exceed 29%. . An advance that remains, in large part, attributed to traditional accounts opened in financial institutions.