october 24, 2013 | geneva
TRANSCRIPT
Postal Financial Inclusion
Mayada El-Zoghbi
October 24, 2013 | Geneva
Introducing CGAP
Member-governed global
partnership of donors to
advance financial access for
the poor.
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CGAP: Advancing financial markets to serve the poor
- Research
- Experimentation
- Knowledge dissemination
Focus on Tunisia – Postal network has significant infrastructure
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330 350
1030
1755
3198
3754
YEMEN JORDAN TUNISIA MOROCCO ALGERIA EGYPT
Commercial Branches
Postal Branches
MFIs• 25% of Tunisians saved
previous year (36%
worldwide; 20% MENA)
• 5% saved in formal
institution (22%
worldwide; 5% MENA)
• Already serves low
income clients
• Trust (savings)
• Large network
• Rural presence
• Resilient to crisis
• Strategy & governance
• Image
• Marketing / outreach
• Product development
• Information systems
• HR systems and
management
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Postal Network in Tunisia: Key advantages and challenges
Key Advantages Key Challenges
Postal network key player for serving low income segments with
savings & payments; partner with MNOs for mobile money
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• Limited reach
• Many new actors
• Regulations allow credit only
MFIs
• Extensive reach
• Savings and payments
• New products with Tunisiana & Visa
Postal Network
• Significant potential, lowest cost
• Regulations limit to via Bank/Post only
Mobile Banking
• Significant political attention & gov’t subsidies
• Subsidies distort market for other providers
BTS/AMCs
95.38% of
population with
mobile phone
access
Large percent
of population
with account
at Post
2% of
population
(Approx.
230,000 clients)
2% of
population
(210,000
clients as of
Dec 2010. )
Partnership? Partnership
La Poste Tunisienne at a crossroad
• Wants to get into the credit business by creating subsidiary MFI in Tunisia as
income earning strategy and to maintain client loyalty.
• Business case for creating new MFI owned by La Poste is weak.
1. No capacity for credit delivery or risk management systems.
2. Market will quickly saturate with credit providers (insufficient demand).
Potential to distort market is high.
• What should La Poste Tunisienne do now?
1. Balance what is good for La Poste versus market reality.
2. Develop an informed strategy that builds on its advantages and work to
address challenges. Income can be earned through other services.
Improving these services should be the immediate priority.
3. Should explore how to build its capacity over time on the credit delivery
side. Start with partnership model with those that already have experience.
4. Creation of a “Bank” may not be the ultimate objective given market size
and priorities for Central Bank in Tunisia. Politics are key here!
Toward a vision for effective financial services delivery for
La Poste Tunisienne
Needs to choose a model based on current situation
Needs government commitment & buy-in
Needs to advance its model as it gains experience
Challenges:
- Ordering of steps
- Management incentives
and timeline
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Role of Postal Networks to Advance Financial Inclusion
Key Lessons Beyond Tunisia
• Postal Networks have a key role for savings, domestic
payments including G2P and remittances
• Big question on credit delivery – answer depends on
market conditions and specific strengths and
weaknesses of postal network
• Partnership models hold significant potential for win-win
scenarios on credit but also for other financial services
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Advancing financial access for the world’s poor
www.cgap.org 10