Therefore, we do see now financial literacy and inclusion high on the global agenda. Thus, in 2010, Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) was established reflecting concerted global efforts that do not solely reflect the need to elevate financial education and literacy to safeguard financial stability. Much more, they are reflection of the understanding that inclusion can help to address poverty and shared prosperity by smoothing household incomes, reducing vulnerability to shocks, enhancing investments in education and health, and encouraging the growth of businesses. In fact, this is why financial inclusion is linked to at least eight of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Global efforts yielded up global improvement. Leveraging on different data sources and the latest 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  conclusions of the Global Partnership, several takeaways can be pinpointed. There is a rise in the financial inclusion. Globally, the share of adults holding an account at a financial institution or through a mobile money service over the years has significantly increased from 51% to 69%. In low-income economies, there are twice as many mobile money accounts than bank accounts per 1,000 adults. (IMF Financial Access Survey). Yet disparities remain. Despite this progress, 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked and inequalities persist. Women in developing countries remain 9 percentage points and globally, by 4 percentage points less likely to have an account than men. Small and medium-sized businesses are mostly excluded from formal borrowing, despite increasingly having an account at a financial service provider.

Therefore we do see the promotion of digital financial inclusion becoming one of the main priorities on a global level. For instance, the G-20 Global Partnership for financial inclusion in late 2020 has set the digital financial inclusion as one of the main priorities in its financial inclusion action plan stressing financial education and consumer protection complemented with regulation as key factors in protecting and empowering the most vulnerable groups. Therefore, we are very grateful that the INFE OECD and the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands accepted our request for workshop on digital financial services and financial education. Bearing in mind the importance of financial education in a dynamic and innovative financial 2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  system, there is unquestioned need for an innovative and systemic approach based on our Strategy for Financial Education and Financial Inclusion. In general, the central banks together with other financial regulatory authorities play the leading role. The last survey on financial literacy of adults in South East Europe done by OECD (2020) revealed that the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia is the most trusted among central banks in the region as provider of financial education. However, the active participation of other stakeholders from the private and civil sector is more that welcome to achieve this mission. Last but not least, as socially responsible institutions, we have a mutual obligation to work together closely and constructively and to exploit available synergies for the benefits of the overall population and society.