This year’s event brought together over 450 senior leaders from non-profit organisations, financial services institutions, central banks and government agencies, multilateral organisations, microfinance institutions, educational organisations and businesses.

The summit was hosted by the State Bank of Vietnam and organised by the Citi Foundation and the Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC), in partnership with the Banking with the Poor Network (BWTP), and the Economist Group.

Speaking at the summit, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong emphasised that more organisations are offering new financial products and services that change the form and nature of the market and are shaping the future of financial inclusion. 

This rapid change presents challenges in terms of management, monitoring and risk of information and system security. 

Therefore, it is critical to harmonize the goals of financial innovation, integration and consumer protection to maximise the benefits of financial inclusion.

She also highlighted the need to balance new innovative technological advances and creative partnerships with policies that will continue not only to help drive financial inclusion for low-income populations but also protect vulnerable populations.

Discussions during the two-day summit focused on exploring the opportunities and challenges of the next generation of financial inclusion; facilitating interactions with policymakers on the latest national and regional initiatives and frontier issues in enabling greater financial inclusion in the Asia-Pacific; showcasing the latest technology and innovations in financial products and services for the unbanked and underserved; as well as stimulating debates and exchanges of knowledge among thought leaders, experts, and fellow practitioners for bestpractices in programming.

Nhan Dan