Financial inclusion critical to improving banking penetration in South Sudan: BOSS                                                                                                              

The Bank of South Sudan (BOSS) is encouraging financial inclusion in order to improve the banking penetration in the country which remains below 10 percent compared to other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 Chan Andrea, the Director for Bank Supervision at BOSS said they are working also to increase the number of people owning bank accounts to more than 60 percent in the next five years.

“The bank of South Sudan has been on the forefront of championing for financial inclusion as a key policy direction with an aim to achieve banking penetration, and account ownership of more than 60 percent in the next five years,” Andrea told journalists during the opening of Kush bank branch in Gumbo Sherikat on Wednesday.                                                                                                                          

He disclosed that financial inclusion stands at 8 percent compared to the average of 70 percent in Sub Saharan region.

Andrea said that financial services such as saving products, credit and loan, payment and money transfer services, and insurance services provide people with greater capacity to stabilize and even increase their income.