Women get special card for banking services

The National Business

PAPUA New Guinea women are not proportionally represented in the customer base of the banking and financial services sector, says a bank manager.
MiBank digital financial services manger Genevieve Daniels, said this during the launch of MiBank women’s only debit card, the Hibiscus Card, in Port Moresby yesterday.
The launch was attended by MiBank directors, executive management, representatives from the diplomatic corp, Central Bank and various development agencies.
Daniels said women made up to 80 per cent of purchasing decisions and up to 33 per cent of private enterprises globally were women-led or women-owned.
“The importance placed on financial inclusion for women is illustrated by the commitments made by Papua New Guinea, through the Bank of Papua New Guinea and CEFI, reflected in PNG’s international financial inclusion obligations under the Maya Declaration,” she said.
“We at MiBank recognise the barriers to access for women.
“We make no apologies for positively discriminating in favour of women, in order to bring them in to the formal financial sector.
“We understand the multiplier effect of investing in women with improved household outcomes in health and education.”
Through this debit card, women will be able to access a range of services including:

  • Access to a network of 12 MiBank branches and 85 agents throughout PNG;
  • Access to MiBank’s digital wallet called MiCash; and,
  • Access to BSP’s network of ATMs and Eftpos merchants throughout Papua New Guinea, as a result of an existing agreement between MiBank and Bank South Pacific.