Germany in December released its Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion German 2017 Priorities Paper. Priorities outlined in this key GPFI document include: (a) review and update of the GPFI Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP): 2030 Agenda and digitization; (b) implementation of the G20 High Level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion: opportunities and risks; (c) implementation of the G20 Action Plan on SME Financing; and (d) development of a work stream on financial inclusion of vulnerable groups: forcibly displaced persons.
As outlined in the Priorities Paper, in 2017 the GPFI and its Subgroups will also pursue work on other important topics, including remittances (including efforts to strengthen competition, use of new digital technologies, improving transaction infrastructure of strengthening consumer protection), financial literacy (assessment of financial literacy in G20 countries), and further work on implementation of the Recommendations in the 2016 GPFI White Paper, Global Standard-Setting Bodies and Financial Inclusion: The Evolving Landscape.
Germany will host formal GPFI meetings in January and in July 2017:
- GPFI Workshop: review and update of the Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP), 23 January 2017, Wiesbaden
- GPFI Meeting, January 24, 2017, Wiesbaden
- GPFI Forum, May 2-3, 2017, Berlin
- GPFI Plenary, May 4, 2017, Berlin
These meetings will be complemented by GPFI-related events:
- G20 Conference: “Digitising finance, financial inclusion and financial literacy,” January 25-26, 2017, Wiesbaden
- G20 Workshop: “Helping SME’s go global Moving forward in SME Finance, February 24, 2017, Frankfurt
- “Responsible Finance Forum: Opportunities and Risks in Digital Financial Services – How do we best protect consumers and their privacy?” April 27-28, 2017, Berlin