Financial prospects for Apec nations

By DOROTHY MARK
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member countries have opportunities for further financial inclusion, doing financial transactions using bank accounts, a banker says.
MiBank PNG chief executive Tony Westaway, who chaired an Apec senior finance officials’ meeting on Wednesday, said financial inclusion simply meant using bank accounts for financial transactions.
Westaway said people in the Asia-Pacific region, including Papua New Guinea, had embraced financial technology and digitalisation but needed to build up their capability and digital literacy. He said there was also responsibility on Apec members and the PNG government to have appropriate regularity environment for consumer protection.
Westaway said the key elements discussed so far were for people to open bank accounts and provide and use digital banking services.
He said the way forward was to work with development partners to develop innovations to make financial services affordable for ordinary Papua New Guineans.
Westaway said the important thing in Papua New Guinea was to understand what people’s needs were and how those digital banking products met their needs in the country.