Reserve Bank of Fiji wins Nestor Espenilla Jr. Financial Inclusion Innovation Award

The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) was announced winner of the esteemed Nestor Espenilla Jr. Financial Inclusion Innovation Award at the 2024 Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum Awards event in San Salvador, El Salvador.

The Nestor Espenilla Jr. Award is a high-level Alliance for Financial Inclusion Award that honours the memory and legacy of Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) a founding member of Alliance for Financial Inclusion and a global champion of innovation and inclusion.

As the first recipient of this award among Pacific Island member countries, this accolade highlights the RBF’s unwavering commitment to advancing financial inclusion and its innovative efforts to empower underserved communities throughout Fiji.

The award inspires policymakers and regulators in the AFI network to innovate and use technology boldly to accelerate progress towards inclusive and sustainable financial sectors in their countries.

The Award is given to an AFI member that has championed innovation and use of technology to advance financial inclusion and demonstrated leadership in sharing its experiences with peers.

Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor, Ariff Ali says they are humbled to be recognised by AFI for their efforts in promoting financial inclusion in Fiji.

Ali says this award reflects the hard work and dedication of their team and partners in creating innovative and sustainable solutions that reach those who need them most.

He says the increased usage of financial services has already shown positive impacts on the livelihoods of many Fijians.

The RBF Governor says their work does not end here as they will continue striving until every Fijian has access to and is able to effectively use all the basic financial services available in the market.

Executive Director of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, Dr Alfred Hannig says innovation will be critical if they are to bring the 1.4 billion unbanked adults into the financial system.

Dr Hannig says the Nestor Espenilla Jr. Innovation Award recognises the RBF’s achievements in developing innovative approaches to financial inclusion.

He says innovation is born from curiosity and open mindedness and the RBF has exemplified this state of mind, and the Award is testament to its commitment to innovating.

The Executive Director says over the years, the central bank has achieved significant milestones in financial inclusion including the introduction of an affordable Parametric Insurance Product, implementation of a fast payment system for retail transactions, expanded financial literacy programs and enhanced data collection to better measure financial inclusion.

He says the expansion of digital financial services through innovation has enabled access to a wider range of financial services for many of Fiji’s underserved. Fiji’s Parametric Microinsurance product targeted at small holder farmers, fishers, market vendors and small businesses stands out as a success story showcasing an innovative solution to enhance financial inclusion through inclusive insurance.

Mobile network operators engaged in enabling insurance premium payment collections and payouts via e-wallets allowing customers without adequate access to banking services to pay premiums and receive payouts via mobile wallets.

The product proposal was the first application admitted to the experimentation stage of the FinTech Regulatory Sandbox regulated and supervised by the RBF.

With this award, the RBF reaffirmed its mission to foster a more inclusive financial system that supports economic growth and enhances quality of life for all Fijians.

The RBF acknowledges the support and commitment of RBF’s partners and stakeholders, the National Financial Inclusion Taskforce (NFIT) and working group members, development partners - UN Capital Development Fund, Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, World Bank, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and AFI towards Fiji’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy. Their unwavering dedication and collaboration have been instrumental in driving forward our efforts and promoting our financial inclusion agenda.