A country develops not only because of foreign investment, but also because of the level of financial literacy of its inhabitants. In this sense, the level of bankarization of the population is of vital importance in Ecuador, where the use of cash is expensive and the government aims to encourage the use of electronic financial channels for commerce, which can be achieved with greater participation of citizens to financial products, services and channels.
When we talk about financial inclusion, we are not only referring to the access, use and education of the public on the different financial services and products, but also to the commitment of all parties to incorporate those who are excluded. By all parties, I mean financial institutions, cooperatives, government and, above all, the population with the willingness to learn and trust institutions.
For example, in Mexico (a benchmark in innovation to promote access to the financial system), the government took this problem very seriously and created the CONAIF (National Council for Financial Inclusion), whose main objective is to define and implement a policy of inclusion, modifying regulations to strengthen popular savings and credit institutions, creating products and services such as basic savings accounts, mobile banking and banking correspondents. They also have specialized financing for the agricultural, rural, forestry and fishing sectors.
Other countries such as Chile have promoted the offer of simplified bank accounts; Peru is creating a single platform, in which the banking sector and other actors interact with each other; Colombia has united some public sector actors to promote and facilitate digital payments, creating entities specialized in these electronic transactions.
Ecuador should work on the design of products according to the needs of the users, taking into consideration terms, amounts, interest rates, guarantee coverage, requirements, grace period, etc. The population must be encouraged to use financial channels that are more convenient and sustainable over time. As an example we have the launching of the “electronic wallet”, which was managed entirely by the Central Bank, but did not have the expected acceptance, managing to open approximately 410,000 accounts with a very low level of transactionality.
The Superintendency of Banks, for approximately 7 years, has been working hard on its “Financial Education” program, not only by its team, but also by all private financial institutions, training children, young people and adults, nationwide, on the rights of financial users, so that they can demand quality service.
According to information from the Central Bank “in 2020, 8.5 million adults are included in the national financial system. Of this figure, 4.4 million are men and 4.1 million are women. Likewise, 72% of citizens have savings accounts, 4% have checking accounts, 4% have time deposits and 28% have some credit”.”
This shows that although it is true that the gap in the non-use of financial products is decreasing, there is still much to be done. It is necessary to work together at the academic, public and private levels, establishing clear policies of access to financial services for the entire population, gradually decreasing the use of cash, which has a high cost for Ecuador. Schools and colleges should teach young people the proper use of money and the advantages of banking, to avoid falling into financial informality that can bring harmful consequences for the country.
Master Héctor Delgado
Online Master's Degree Teacher
