Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Finance Minister Felix Mutati has challenged both commercial banks and financial service providers to further reduce interest rates so as to make credit affordable to Zambians.
The Minister said this in a speech read on his behalf by Ministry of Finance Deputy Accountant General Joe Ukwimi during the official opening of the 3rd International Banking and Finance Conference organized by the Zambia Institute of Banking and Financial Services (ZIBFS) in Lusaka.
Mr. Mutati says when the interest rates are reduced further; this will help in supporting the growth of the local Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs).
He says there is need to allow the people have access to financial services as a way of growing Zambia’s economy.
Speaking earlier, Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ) Deputy Chairperson Kole Adeleke says statistics indicate that since 2013, the financial sector has recorded a significant growth in the usage of electronic and mobile payments channels with usage increasing by an average of 50 percent and mobile payments increasing by an average of 58 percent between 2013 and 2016.
And in his welcoming remarks, Zambia Institute of Banking and Financial Services President Cephas Chabu has called on financial institutions to make Digital Financial Services more user friendly.
He says these can be intimidating to customers if there is no proper sensitization.
The 3rd International Banking and Financial Services conference is being held under the theme; “Driving financial inclusion through digital solutions implications for the sector players”.