US-Phl partnership to make financial services more accessible

MANILA, Philippines - The United States and the Philippines have announced a new partnership that will provide Filipinos easier access to financial services through the use of mobile phones, the US Embassy in Manila said yesterday.

President Aquino and US Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah agreed to implement what is known as the Scaling Innovations in Mobile Money (SIMM) initiative in the Philippines.

“The SIMM project aims to empower Filipinos by providing easier and more efficient access to banking and payment services through mobile phones,” Shah said. “It builds upon USAID/Philippines’ current work in microfinance and mobile banking to expand opportunity and financial services through new technologies.”

The initiative will enable more Filipinos to enjoy access to financial services in a more affordable and efficient manner by expanding mobile money services. Key areas include the payment system, government services, and electronic payroll distribution.

Only 26 percent of Filipinos have access to formal financial channels. Out of the 1,635 municipalities in the country, 37 percent or 610 municipalities do not have access to banks. The SIMM project will take advantage of the high penetration rate of mobile phone subscribers to close the gap and extend financial services to Filipinos from any place in the country.

USAID Philippines Mission Director Gloria Steele said: “The success of this project will rely heavily on the participation of the private sector. We will engage with financial institutions, mobile network operators, small and medium enterprises, learning institutions, non-government organizations and the general business community to work with us in this effort.”

These objectives follow the Philippine government and the US government’s focus on breaking down barriers to growth, a priority under the Partnership for Growth signed last year by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

The embassy said the US is committed to making financial services accessible to lower income families in the Philippines. Since 1997, USAID has implemented programs that have enabled microentrepreneurs, small farmers and households access to loans, deposits, microinsurance, remittances, and mobile phone banking services.