Financial Inclusion for Sustainable Development

A/RES/74/205View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 17eFinancial inclusion for sustainable development, published in 2019.

What other versions does this mandate have?

6 versions · 2016–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/125

2025A/RES/80/125Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/139Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/195Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/205Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/206Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 topics

Development Finance Financial Services Sustainable Development

What does this mandate say?

15 operative paragraphs

Recalls the inclusion in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of, inter alia, several targets related to the promotion of financial inclusion, also recalls that the Sustainable Development Goals and associated targets are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development, and in this regard looks forward to their achievement;

Also recalls the inclusion in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development of, inter alia, several policies and actions intended to ensure a policy and regulatory environment for the promotion of financial inclusion, and in this regard looks forward to their implementation;

Reaffirms its decision to give consideration, as appropriate, to financial inclusion in the follow-up and review framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in the follow-up process of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda;

Takes note of the consideration given to financial inclusion in the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2019, stresses that, while financial inclusion has improved in recent years, notably owing to the growth in mobile banking, significant gaps remain within and among developed and developing countries, and remains concerned that, globally, 1.7 billion people do not have access to formal financial services and that, despite increased account ownership among women, the financial inclusion gender gap remains;

Notes that mobile phones could continue to strengthen financial inclusion, and in this regard underlines the need for the necessary investments, including in infrastructure, such as reliable electricity and network connections, as well as in payment systems and other financial infrastructure, and encourages Member States to take policy actions in accordance with national circumstances and priorities;

Acknowledges the important role that national financial inclusion strategies can play in identifying and overcoming financing gaps and binding constraints, including the lack of access to finance for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, notes that at least 69 countries have adopted or are in the process of developing financial inclusion strategies, and in this regard encourages Member States to consider the convenience of adopting and pursuing national financial inclusion strategies and gender-responsive strategies, to end the structural barriers to women’s equal access to economic resources and to expand peer learning, experience-sharing and capacity-building among countries and regions in this respect;

Recognizes that digitally enabled innovation in the financial sector has contributed significantly to the rapid expansion of access to financial services and financial inclusion, enabling progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and showing impacts across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as outlined in the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2019, and supports concrete actions to advance digital financial inclusion and close digital divides, including the gender digital divide, across and within countries, while improving responsible digital financial practices and promoting regulatory responses, as appropriate, to protect consumers’ interests, financial integrity and system stability, which are mutually reinforcing and also enablers of greater financial inclusion;

Also recognizes the growing importance of financial technology actors and new instruments and platforms, including mobile banking and peer-to-peer platforms, which have enabled access to financial services for millions of people and provided channels for smaller companies to raise risk capital, as well as the potential of big data and artificial intelligence in this respect, encourages, in this context, Governments and regulatory agencies to review and adjust, as appropriate, legal and regulatory frameworks to cope with the risks and maximize the benefits associated with these new instruments, and invites countries to exchange experiences and promote peer learning in this area and further enhance capacity-building in this regard;

Acknowledges that, in the absence of strong financial consumer protection, the growth-enhancing benefits of expanded financial inclusion may be lost or severely undermined, and in this regard stresses the importance of scaled-up action to improve financial and digital literacy and effective consumer protection for the poorest and most vulnerable, including for women, young people, rural residents and migrants;

Also acknowledges the efforts and actions on financial inclusion for sustainable development undertaken by a wide range of stakeholders working in partnership, such as the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, the Better Than Cash Alliance, the Special Advocate of the Secretary-General for Inclusive Finance for Development and the Group of 20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, urges them to engage in an inclusive and transparent manner with Member States in their work, in order to ensure that their initiatives complement or strengthen the United Nations system, including the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the regional commissions, and encourages enhanced coordination and cooperation with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development;

Encourages the international community, including Member States, and all relevant stakeholders, including the entities of the United Nations system, international financial institutions, other intergovernmental bodies, regional and national development banks, domestic financial institutions, credit unions, multi-stakeholder partnerships and relevant non-governmental organizations, as appropriate, to further develop financial literacy and financial education programmes that include an emphasis on the impact of finance on sustainable development, as appropriate, in order to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to access financial services, in particular women and girls, farmers and those working in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises;

Encourages Member States and all relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, in the context of a renewed and strengthened Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, led by Governments, to further efforts to reduce the transaction costs of migrant remittances to less than 3 per cent by 2030 and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent by 2030, considering that there was no improvement in 2018 and that the global average is still about 7 per cent, to support national authorities in addressing the most significant obstacles to the continued flow of remittances, such as the trend of banks withdrawing services, and to work towards expanding access to and the volume of remittances through regulated and transparent channels, and in this regard highlights the potential of financial technology services to offer alternative channels and reduce remittance costs;

Looks forward to the continuing consideration of financial inclusion in the forthcoming reports of the Inter-Agency Task Force on financing for sustainable development, as appropriate and in accordance with existing mandates, as well as in the annual report of the Secretary-General on progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and to the further consideration of financial inclusion for sustainable development at the 2020 Economic and Social Council forum on financing for development follow-up;

Reaffirms the commitment at the very heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind and commit to taking more tangible steps to support people in vulnerable situations and the most vulnerable countries and to reach the furthest behind first;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-sixth session, under the item entitled “Macroeconomic policy questions”, the sub-item entitled “Financial inclusion for sustainable development”.

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