KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia has advanced two places to the 18th most financially inclusive market out of 42 markets analysed globally, according to the 2023 Global Financial Inclusion Index by Principal Financial Group (Principal) and the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Consumer data showed a significant positive increase in perceptions of financial inclusion across Southeast Asia, and Malaysia had jumped in the rankings for public perception, rising from 20th to the 15th spot, Principal said.
“The country saw improvement across two of the three pillars of financial inclusion, ranking 22nd for government support (up two places from 24th), 17th for financial system support (up six places from 23rd), and maintaining its fifth place ranking for employer support.
“Significant improvements in Malaysia’s digital economy contributed to its improved overall financial inclusion position, improved rankings for the ‘volume of real-time transactions’ (up 13 places to 14th) and ‘online connectivity’ (up three places to 24th) indicators,” the global financial company said in a statement Tuesday.
Principal Malaysia country head and chief executive officer, Munirah Khairuddin said the continued focus on digitisation and other initiatives that eliminate barriers to people’s ability to save and invest will further improve financial inclusion across the country.
“It’s encouraging to see Malaysia rise in the rankings as well as an increase in the number of people who feel financially included in this country.
“Principal is proud to join in this effort through e-wallet solutions, which allows Malaysians to build optimal portfolios to achieve their financial goals,” she said.
She added that Principal will continue to work across sectors to help broaden awareness and access to the financial tools needed to help reach financial security.
Annual research from Principal that ranks the financial inclusivity of markets based on the support provided by employers, the government and the financial system also found that, overall, financial inclusion improved globally over the last 12 months.
“The largest advancements were in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Southern Europe, while Western and Northern Europe were broadly flat,” it said.
The Global Financial Inclusion Index ranks 42 markets on three pillars of financial inclusion –government, financial system, and employer support — using data points across public and survey-based sources.
These pillars represent the key stakeholders responsible for promoting financial inclusion across the population.
— NNN-BERNAMA