A key issue for central banks is the need for effective monitoring of the impact of financial inclusion policies. The IFC workshop on financial inclusion indicators held in 2012 at Sasana Kijang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, highlighted the crucial role of measurement of financial inclusion as a guide to developing effective policies. Adequate indicators are a prerequisite for properly assessing financial inclusion, and for formulating, implementing and monitoring public policy designed to enhance it. Good statistics can also help to strike a balance between encouraging innovation and the growth of financial services on the one hand, and ensuring that financial stability is preserved on the other.
A number of international initiatives, undertaken by various public and private sector organisations and SSBs, have helped to set up common frameworks for developing financial inclusion indicators and informing policymakers about them. But
despite many and encouraging improvements, measurement of financial inclusion remains work in progress.
For its part, the Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics (IFC) has been tasked with facilitating central bank discussions on data issues related to financial inclusion. As part of this endeavour, the IFC has surveyed its member central banks on national policies and practices for financial inclusion, together with the implementation of international data initiatives and related challenges. Conducted in the fourth quarter of 2015, the survey covered 47 countries, of which 17 are advanced economies, and 30 emerging economies in Asia, eastern Europe and Latin America. The questionnaire solicited information on national practices and projects in the area of financial inclusion.
