BSP: More than 129,000 trained in last 5 years

OVER 129,000 people in Papua New Guinea have received financial literacy training and banking education through Bank South Pacific (BSP) over the last five years.
Group general manager retail Paul Thornton said this figure was as of Monday this week.
“Financial literacy and banking education is an important part of BSP’s contribution to the communities we operate in,” he said.
“It is important to note that out of the 129,474 people our trainers reached, 48 per cent of them are female.”
BSP said in a statement said that since inception in October 2014, the programme aimed to educate the community on how to manage money and help them to use the appropriate banking products and services.
Thornton said the programme had reached numerous communities, including some of the most-remote areas in PNG.
“BSP has over 130 qualified financial literacy trainers who are based in all BSP branches in PNG,” he said.
“The bank continuously invests in certifying financial literacy trainers to be able to carry out this programme.
“These trainers facilitate and deliver training to all BSP branch networks, including out-of-branch settings such as local communities, church groups, associations, universities, government institutions and private sector corporations.”
Thornton said BSP would also continue to champion financial inclusion with this programme, including suitable products and services with BSP’s fee-free accounts.
With the fee-free accounts, more BSP customers in PNG do not have to pay monthly fees and earn higher interest on their savings.
Last year, BSP opened over 200,000 retail customer accounts and over one million customers used their KunduCards to make payments.
“We will continue to ensure the basic banking services reach the ‘unbanked’ through our network of 46 branches, 43 sub-branches and our 372 agents in Papua New Guinea,” Thornton said.