Through financial education, CAF supports project to promote the use of electronic money

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, will support the Centro de Estudios Financieros de la Asociación de Bancos del Perú (ASBANC) (Center for Financial Studies of the Association of Banks of Peru), to promote the project Promotion of Electronic Money, through financial education. The objective is to contribute with financial inclusion in the country. 

This project will focus on two lines of action: development of financial capacities for market and warehouse sellers in North Lima, Piura, and Sullana; and promotion of digital payment means to reduce the use of cash in transactions. 

After highlighting the positive relationship between the increase of financial inclusion and economic development in countries, Eleonora Silva, CAF's Director Representative in Peru, stated that in the medium term, this initiative will contribute to the incorporation of people and small businesses which are not included into the formal financial system; it will also generate learning for the dissemination of the channel among different interest groups. 

Silva noted, "Through inclusion, financial systems generate more possibilities of improving the allocation of resources for the traditionally excluded sectors, thus increasing their access to services that improve the quality of life of society". 

At the same time, Oscar Rivera, leading representative of the banking system and President of ASBANC's CEFI, highlighted the banking sector's permanent commitment to promote financial inclusion in Peru, which has materialized with the entry into operations of the Electronic Money Platform and its BIM product. The initiative is mainly aimed at benefiting the rural population, which is isolated from development centers. The objective, he said, is to eliminate distances, provide security, shorten the operations times, and reduce the costs of money operations so that increasingly more Peruvians may access the opportunities of the financial market.  

Rivera also stated that the electronic wallet, BIM, is a unique model in the world. It was launched by the banks associated to ASBANC, in association with other entities of the financial system and telephone operators. It is a powerful tool through which the use of cash may be reduced through mobile telephones, while including, until 2021, close to 5 million lower-income Peruvians who could make financial transactions with their cell phones without the need to have a bank account. 

Rivera stated, "As may be seen, this project not only democratizes the opportunities in the country but is also a tool that will improve the quality of life of lower income Peruvians".