Summary of Key Recommendations Recommendations Responsible Term Financial Continue to develop National Financial Inclusion Strategy MEF, BCEAO ST/MT (NFIS) Inclusion Allow and advocate for branchless banking MEF, BCEAO, Private Sector MT Consider policies that encourage uptake and usage of MEF, Private Sector MT basic transaction accounts at no or low costs Promote the development and provision of diversified MEF, Private Sector LT financial services for the poor geared towards their specific needs Financial Develop either a stand-alone National Financial Capability MEF, Ministry of Gender, Youth, ST Strategy (NFCS) or a dedicated financial capability section and Microfinance, BCEAO, Capability as part of a broader NFIS based on results of this survey industry associations, consumer associations, private sector and other relevant stakeholders this survey results with financial institutions to help MEF, Ministry of Gender, ST them develop tailored products that promote better habits and Microfinance and behaviors Use a wide range of programs, including mass media MEF, Ministry of Gender, Youth, MT channels, text messages, mobile phone applications, etc., and Microfinance, BCEAO, to enhance financial knowledge and change attitudes and industry associations, consumer financial behaviors associations, private sector and other relevant stakeholders Explore opportunities for school-based financial education MEF, Ministry of Gender, Youth, LT and Microfinance, Ministry of Education Consumer Introduce Key Statements and develop related BCEAO ST specialized disclosure requirements for different types of Protection financial products (e.g. for credit products and test consumer understanding of the disclosure materials) Assess whether regulatory action is needed to improve ST disclosure of consumer rights and recourse Review and assess if minimum standards for complaints BCEAO ST handling could be established or further enhanced by setting more specific rules Enforce full compliance of FIs with consumer protection BCEAO MT requirements including information disclosure, fair advertising, complaints handling and redress, and promote business practices by using adequate market conduct supervisory tools including mystery shopping Consider to give adequate powers to the OQSF to MT effectively function as an independent external out of court dispute resolution (EDR) mechanism for all disputes between consumers and financial providers
Summary of Key Recommendations Recommendations Responsible Term Financial Inclusion Continue to develop National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) MEF, BCEAO ST/MT Allow and advocate for branchless banking MEF, BCEAO, Private Sector MT Consider policies that encourage uptake and usage of basic transaction accounts at no or low costs MEF, Private Sector MT Promote the development and provision of diversified financial services for the poor geared towards their specific needs MEF, Private Sector LT Financial Capability Develop either a stand-alone National Financial Capability Strategy (NFCS) or a dedicated financial capability section as part of a broader NFIS based on results of this survey MEF, Ministry of Gender, Youth, and Microfinance, BCEAO, industry associations, consumer associations, private sector and other relevant stakeholders ST this survey results with financial institutions to help them develop tailored products that promote better habits and behaviors MEF, Ministry of Gender, and Microfinance ST Use a wide range of programs, including mass media channels, text messages, mobile phone applications, etc., to enhance financial knowledge and change attitudes and financial behaviors MEF, Ministry of Gender, Youth, and Microfinance, BCEAO, industry associations, consumer associations, private sector and other relevant stakeholders MT Explore opportunities for school-based financial education MEF, Ministry of Gender, Youth, and Microfinance, Ministry of Education LT Consumer Protection Introduce Key Statements and develop related specialized disclosure requirements for different types of financial products (e.g. for credit products and test consumer understanding of the disclosure materials) BCEAO ST Assess whether regulatory action is needed to improve disclosure of consumer rights and recourse ST Review and assess if minimum standards for complaints handling could be established or further enhanced by setting more specific rules BCEAO ST Enforce full compliance of FIs with consumer protection requirements including information disclosure, fair advertising, complaints handling and redress, and promote business practices by using adequate market conduct supervisory tools including mystery shopping BCEAO MT Consider to give adequate powers to the OQSF to effectively function as an independent external out of court dispute resolution (EDR) mechanism for all disputes between consumers and financial providers MT
SENEGAL-Enhancing-Financial-Capability-and-Inclusioin-Final-20160615.docx