G20-Finance Track Conference
Afrika and digital transformation
Financial inclusion is a huge opportunity for Africa and one of the top issues of Germany’s G20 Presidency, stressed Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble at the G20 Finance Track Conference in Wiesbaden. The G20 states aim to better harness the opportunities offered by the digitalisation of the financial sector for the people of Africa.
The motto of Germany’s one-year G20 Presidency, which began on 1 December 2016, is "Shaping an interconnected world". There will be a special focus on the digital financial sector, with its worldwide financial flows.
On 25 January more than 180 G20 delegates, academics, government experts and representatives of the private sector met at a conference hosted by the Bundesbank and the German Federal Ministry of Finance at Schloss Biebrich in Wiesbaden. They discussed the opportunities and risks posed by the digitalisation of the financial sector – one priority issue for the German G20 Presidency.
Financial inclusion: an opportunity for Africa
The German government believes that the digitalisation of the financial sector offers a great many advantages. The opportunities offered by online banking, for instance, make for greater efficiency and transparency. Digitalisation gives people access to financial services – and this is particularly true for people in Africa, who were previously excluded from the financial sector.
The impacts can already be seen on broad sections of the population in Kenya and the sub-Saharan region, where the unequal distribution of income within society has been redressed to some extent. "People who are part of the financial system are in a far better position when it comes to starting up their own business or investing in their children’s education," said Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann.
Fostering financial literacy
At the same time the digitalised financial sector also brings with it many risks. The more people run the risk of all too easily running up debts online, the greater the risk to the stability of the financial system as a whole.
At the G20 Finance Track Conference, experts thus also discussed financial literacy. The critical question is how to give clients of online businesses a basic understanding of financial services and the commitment they entail. The latest studies worldwide demonstrate that many people take on financial commitments without giving the matter enough thought.
Wednesday, 25 January 2017