Competition in banking industry vital, says official

MICRO Small Medium Enterprise (MSME) council president Desmond Yaninen says competition is absolutely crucial for the banking industry.
Yaninen said, when responding to queries from The National, that without it, existing players would not be compelled to improve the quality of services they offered to customers.
“The MSME council will welcome new banks entering the market which offer tailor-made products for MSMEs,” he said.
“Nasfund Contributors Savings and Loans Society recently announced an SME loan product for its members.
“This is a step in the right direction.
“Financial inclusion is right for all in PNG but unfortunately less than 15 per cent of the population have bank accounts.
“Even if they do have bank accounts, it is very difficult for the majority of our people in rural areas to access banking services,” he said.
“New entrants to the banking sector must look at using mobile phone banking, internet banking and other digital technologies to make banking more accessible for all.
“In saying that, the PNG Civil and Identity Registry’s National Identity project (NID) is a basic requirement for all bank accounts so it falls back on the Government to progress it.
“NID has made significant progress in the last two years and the more of our people they can sign up for the NID card, the easier it will be for them to access banking services.”