Asaan Digital Account launched to boost women’s financial inclusion

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday unveiled Asaan Digital Account (ADA) with an aim to break barriers in way of women’s financial inclusion by offering faster, cheaper, efficient, and convenient solutions for meeting their requirements, a statement said.

ADA is a fully digitised solution for opening a full-service bank account from anywhere, at any time, through smartphones or computers with only a CNIC and no other documentation requirements, it added.

To celebrate the journey of women’s financial inclusion in Pakistan, the SBP, in collaboration with Bank Alfalah, Standard Chartered Bank, and UBL, hosted an event titled Asaan Digital Account: Breaking Barriers, which was graced by Governor SBP, Dr Reza Baqir as the chief guest. The event was organised to mark International Women’s Day.

SBP governor lauded the contributions of women in various fields and stressed that women empowerment is the key to socio-economic developments in the country. He observed that gender gaps do not allow women the same freedom to avail opportunities, rights and obligations in all walks of life as compared to men. However, the International Women’s Day encourages us to pause and reflect on the systemic barriers that limit women in their pursuits. He stressed the need to reflect and renew the sense of ambition, and transformative possibility around gender equality in financial services space.

Traditionally, women’s participation in financial services has remained low due to persistent barriers such as cumbersome documentation requirements, proximity to the bank branches and availability of suitable products, which together with the constraining social and cultural norms, have prevented women from availing even the basic financial services such as owning a bank account, Dr Baqir said.

He encouraged women to open their bank accounts through the newly introduced Asaan Digital Account while urging all banks to take measures to make the account opening process more simple, increase the value proposition for women, and market the features to expand their outreach.

Mehreen Ahmed, Group Head Bank Alfalah (BAFL), said her bank had been playing its part for a number of years now, in helping women across many segments of the economy to become financially independent. BAFL has been enabling women entrepreneurs with initial funding to start their new ventures as well as providing funding for growing their already established businesses, she added.

Rehan Shaikh, CEO Standard Chartered Bank, said women were an integral constituent of our society and their full and equal participation in all facets of society as a fundamental human right.

He lauded the efforts of SBP for playing a leading role in creating an environment to push the frontiers in this space. He went on to add that with continued focus and support by the central bank, the banking industry was embracing digital transformation.

Shazad Dada, President & CEO, United Bank Limited, congratulated the State Bank of Pakistan on Asaan Digital Account initiative and attributed its resounding success to its simplicity and accessibility to customers from all over Pakistan, including unbanked regions. The account is ideal for the women of Pakistan as it can be opened from anywhere and there is no need to visit a branch to open or maintain the account, Dada said.