Fireside Chat: From Financial Inclusion to Financial Health
Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, discusses the transition from financial inclusion to financial health, emphasising the need to move from mere access to meaningful impact.
Over the past 15 years, significant progress has been made in financial inclusion, but the focus must now shift to improving financial outcomes for individuals.
Key Achievements in Financial Inclusion:
- Raised global awareness, engaging public, private, and global sectors.
- Developed 65+ national financial inclusion strategies through collaboration with organisations like the World Bank and the Gates Foundation.
- Introduced data-driven tools, such as Findex, to measure and guide financial inclusion efforts.
Comprehensive Framework for Financial Health:
- Daily Financial Management: Helping people handle daily expenses even with irregular income.
- Future Planning: Enabling individuals to set and achieve long-term goals, like buying a home or securing retirement.
- Resilience Against Shocks: Building savings and insurance to protect against unexpected events.
- Financial Confidence: Addressing the emotional and psychological aspects of financial well-being, linking it to mental health and productivity.
Role of Technology and Open Finance:
- Digital solutions, like automated savings and financial management apps, make financial planning more accessible.
- Open finance empowers individuals by giving them control over their financial data, enabling more personalised and effective financial services.
Call for Collaboration:
- Governments, financial institutions, and tech innovators must work together to improve financial health.
- Enhanced data collection is needed to assess financial health accurately across populations.
- Financial institutions should adopt a customer-centric approach, designing products that address real needs rather than prioritising profit.
- A balanced dialogue between regulators and innovators is crucial to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth.
Future Vision:
- Her Majesty aims to transform the financial industry, making it more empathetic and responsive to individuals' real-life struggles and aspirations.
- Reducing financial stress and promoting secure, meaningful lives is a top priority, with a focus on sustainable well-being.
Her Majesty envisions a world where financial systems empower people, moving beyond access to achieving comprehensive financial health.
Speaker:
- H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Financial Health
Moderator:
- Dr Tilman Ehrbeck, Managing Partner, Flourish Ventures