MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexico, Indonesia, Haiti Use Tiered Savings Account Requirements to Promote Financial Inclusion

Mexico, Indonesia and Haiti are responding to the challenge of balancing financial access with security by creating tiered requirements for savings accounts. In 2011, Mexico proposed implementation a four-tier account system, with the lowest tier including monthly deposits of up to USD 280. These “Level 1” accounts would be “anonymous,” though the details of how they would be implemented have not yet been determined. At the other end of the spectrum, deposits over USD 3,860 require both photo identification and a tax identification number. In Indonesia, for non-bank e-money accounts of up to USD 110, customer identity is not recorded [1] [3]. In Haiti, the Central Bank allows two mobile money service providers, T-Cash by Voila and TchoTcho Mobile by Digicel, to offer entry-level accounts of up to USD 62 that do not require face-to-face registation [1] [2]. For several years, South Africa also has allowed remote registration for mobile banking, which requires submission of the individual’s national ID number. Transactions conducted via these accounts are capped at USD 146 per day [1].

By Natalie Baer, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] “Mexico, Indonesia and Haiti Advance Financial Inclusion with Bold Approaches to Account Opening” by Ignacio Mas and Claire Alexandre, http://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/mexico-indonesia-and-haiti-advance-financial-inclusion-with-bold-approaches-to-account-opening/

[2] Tracking Mobile Money Use in Haiti,
http://technology.cgap.org/2011/11/22/tracking-mobile-money-use-in-haiti/

[3] Email discussions with Ignacio Mas, Consultant on technology-enabled models for financial inclusion

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