Financial inclusion plays a key role in achieving Vision 2025 in ASEAN, in terms of economic, human and social development. Financial inclusion initiatives in ASEAN serves to support the economic pillar of the Vision 2025 blueprint, by strengthening regulations and financial infrastructure, supporting the micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector, and facilitating the seamless movement of goods, services, capital, and labour.

Financial inclusion also provides the building blocks to reduce inequality, drive inclusive growth and enable human development across the region. To promote a cohesive and integrated economic community in ASEAN, financial integration, financial inclusion, and financial stability are seen as the critical triumvirate of economic drivers contributing to:

1. Ensuring that the financial sector is inclusive and stabl
2. Enhancing the financing ecosystem in the region to benefit MSMEs
3. Expanding the scope of financial access and literacy
4. Intensifying implementation of financial education programmes and consumer protection mechanisms
5. Promoting the expansion of distribution channels which improve access to and reduce cost of financial services

It is within this context that the ASEAN Working Committee on Financial Inclusion (WC-FINC) has set a framework for achieving the region’s financial inclusion targets. To achieve the vision set out in this framework, it will be crucial for member states to implement the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) successfully (for those member states who has a NFIS in place), and to track financial inclusion across ASEAN countries on a periodic basis. This will assist monitoring strategy implementation and establishing whether targets are being met at a national and regional level, while the platform for cooperation also serve to identify areas for knowledge exchange among ASEAN member states (AMS).

To measure the progress of implementation, a monitoring and evaluation framework and reporting protocols have been put in place, in the form of a guidance note, under the leadership and guidance of the WC-FINC DO1 working group. During this process, countries put forward a core set of indicators, which serves as the basis for regional reporting.

This report serves as an annual reflection on progress on these measurable indicators on financial inclusion, based on an assessment of data availability and collection processes at national level. This reporting framework enables an assessment of the effectiveness of the implementation of the NFIS to achieve the desired outcome. This will aid policy making and inform if there are adjustments needed in the NFIS implementation.