such training. … extending the scope • while talking about financial education, it is important that the focus also extends to the urban populace, including the literate masses, which may not be having the financial acumen, technology suaveness and may not be'financially literate '. it is not that the urban masses are well versed in the internet banking and other newer methods of banking ; there continues to remain a segment, which either avoids using the services due to lack of confidence or remains unaware of the options available. financial education to such target group would be mutually beneficial. • there is also need for greater awareness of various products and services offered by banks. a specific case that comes to mind pertains to the housing finance sector. rbi had also raised the issue of transparency and fairness in housing loans in the recent mid - term review of monetary policy. it has been reported that some banks, while lending for housing, are not fully transparent in indicating the factors governing the benchmark in respect of floating rates as well as in regard to reset clauses. as part of consumer awareness, many initiatives have been taken to increase the disclosure levels on part of lenders, but effectiveness of all this would be predicated on the financial understanding of the person taking the loan. the short point is - does the consumer understand the underlying principle of a floating rate or can he even ensure that the bank has been fair and transparent in its dealing with him? clearly, there is need for financial education to prevent vulnerable consumers from falling prey to'financially disquieting credit arrangements '. even in regard to remittance facilities and foreign exchange encashment, the lack of awareness about the various facilities could adversely impact a population segment at the'bottom of the pyramid'which is the beneficiary of smaller remittances from migrant workers. recently, a working group on cost of nri remittances has stressed in its report the need for an ongoing'awareness program'for imparting basic awareness on facilities existing for making remittances, particularly for migrant workers. apart from other things, this could also help in reducing the cost of effecting remittances. • though the term'financial education has come to be associated with individual / personal finance, a very important segment that must be brought under the ambit of such initiatives relates to small entrepreneurs and small businesses. particularly when the effort is towards'inclusive growth ', it is these segments in smaller

- skilled workers. there are even apps that provide home cooks, plumbers and electricians, and house cleaners to market their services and get paid digitally through the platform. this is potentially a great platform for our workers and skilled laborers to augment their income. i hope through these examples you are able to see the benefits of having a transaction account and why financial inclusion matters. when we have a transaction account, we enjoy all the benefits afforded by digital payments and innovations. when we have a transaction account, we are able to meaningfully participate in the gains of an increasingly digital economy. hindi tayo napag - iiwanan. and so we organized this forum, as we believe that you, the labor and employment sector, have much to gain and can play a big role in advancing financial inclusion. payment of salaries and wages is a compelling opportunity to open transactions accounts for our workers. and based on existing official data, there are 25. 5 million strong workforce in the country — a massive client base that is hard to ignore for both financial service providers and policymakers in our pursuit of our financial inclusion agenda. and so it is my hope that you come out of this forum with an enthusiasm to drive the financial inclusion journey of our country. use your collective voice to ensure workers can maximize the benefits of their employment through better access to financial services, starting with a transaction account. having a transaction account is key. we are living in a most remarkable time as we see our country enjoying continued strong economic growth with digitalization becoming a critical enabler of economic and financial inclusion. i hope that together we can seize these opportunities and enable all filipinos to reap the benefits of our economic growth and achieve prosperity for all. 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches before i end my talk, allow me to thank our partners from the dole for convening our participants and for working with the bsp to make this forum a reality. dole has just recently joined the interagency financial inclusion steering committee. yet it wasted no time at all to show its commitment to promote financial inclusion in the labor sector. i would also like to thank our friends from the private sector : gcash, paymaya, union bank and cebuana lhuillier rural bank for generously giving their time to talk here in this forum. this forum is evidence of what we in the bsp have been saying all along — that financial inclusion is not just a whole of government but a whole of