You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’ tag.
> Posted by Center Staff
What’s happening this week in the world of financial inclusion? Check out the second issue of our new weekly online magazine, the Financial Inclusion 2020 News Feed.
In case you missed the inaugural issue, each Monday the FI2020 News Feed will bring you the big news in financial inclusion. We’ll pull from all over to spotlight great new stories, initiatives, videos, podcasts, and more.
Here are some of the pieces featured in this week’s issue:
- Business Today’s recent article on account inactivity in India’s Jan Dhan Yojana scheme
- The Microcredit Summit Campaign’s post on the Government of Ecuador committing to disability inclusion
- The Wall Street Journal‘s announcement of finalists in the Asia-Pacific Financial Inclusion Challenge
- Agencia de Noticias Andina’s article on an Indian financial inclusion delegation’s recent trip to Peru
To read the second issue, click here, and make sure to subscribe by entering your email address in the right-hand menu so you can be notified when the latest issue comes out.
Have you come across a story or initiative you think we should cover? Email your ideas to us at .
> Posted by Julia Arnold, Research Consultant
#463183525 / gettyimages.com
A colleague recently shared a story about helping a friend’s housekeeper open a Jan Dhan Yojana account in India – a free bank account offered through India’s massive new financial inclusion scheme. After being stonewalled by the bank teller and yelled at by the assistant manager, who insisted the bank no longer offered the account, my colleague and the housekeeper were ushered into the bank manager’s office. The bank manager proceeded to ask the housekeeper for multiple forms of ID, none of which are required for the Jan Dhan Yojana account. Only when the bank manager recognized my colleague as a financial inclusion expert and author of a scathing newspaper article on the Indian banking sector, did he “make an exception”. When the housekeeper returned the following day to get her debit card, she was asked for payment. Luckily, she pointed to a copy of a pamphlet in the local language, which showed that she should be allowed to open the account without a deposit. Now, after all that, she is a member of the formal banking system of India.
What this story shows is that a decree that banks must offer a financial product to the unbanked is not enough. Educating frontline staff, shifting workplace culture, and strengthening consumer protection laws are all key changes needed to enable genuine inclusion.
So is advancing financial capability. Financial capability refers to a person’s knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior, as demonstrated in informed personal financial choices and outcomes. In this case, the housekeeper had access to a personal financial inclusion expert to help her navigate her relationship with the bank, but few people are so lucky.
Facebook
Twitter
Recent Comments