SBP starts media campaign on AMA

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in collaboration with Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), unveiled a mass media campaign for Asaan Mobile Account (AMA) on Wednesday to mark its formal launch.

AMA aims to address financial exclusion challenges faced by the unbanked segments by providing them an easy, affordable and digital access to financial services, by simply dialing a USSD code *2262#.

“It is expected that the nationwide AMA mass media campaign together with the stakeholders’ commitment to collaborate will be instrumental in spreading awareness and promote digital financial services among all,” the SBP said in a statement.

The launch of mass media campaign by SBP will help in creating general awareness about the AMA, its ease of use and allied benefits to attract the unbanked segments into the formal financial network.

The campaign would cover all major TV, radio, print and digital platforms, across the country. Besides Urdu, it would also be run in regional languages to ensure maximum outreach, awareness, and understanding of the product by all Pakistanis across the country, the SBP said.

The mass media campaign, funded by the FCDO, is expected to play a crucial role in spreading digital financial inclusion among all segments, especially among low-income ones and women with mobile phones who may not have access to internet and wish to have a simpler way to avail financial services.

Moreover, SBP said, AMA scheme would be a perfect conduit to onboard women customer segments as Pakistani women face distinct obstacles in accessing formal financial services due to mobility and documentation hassles. Earlier, the AMA scheme was introduced on December 13, 2021 with a key support of PTA, which ensured the onboarding/integration of all cellular mobile operators on the AMA platform.