ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit an Ehsaas Kafaalat payment site on Monday (today) to inaugurate the Ehsaas Saving Wallets (Ehsaas Bachat Bank Account) initiative.
Ehsaas Saving Wallets (ESWs) initiative is predicated on the understanding that digital and financial inclusion will open avenues for women to take better advantage of opportunities offered under the Ehsaas National Poverty Graduation Initiative.
ESWs are also an essential component of the Ehsaas Financial Inclusion Strategy, which was launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan in the presence of Queen Maxima of the Netherlands during her visit to Pakistan in November 2019.
According to a statement, the saving wallets initiative is a strategic step forward for households to manage financial shocks, meet emergency needs, and invest to increase their earnings; to climb out of poverty. The aim of this programme is to encourage savings which can help alleviate poverty.
The newly launched Ehsaas Bachat account will deepen the financial inclusion initiated under the ‘One Woman One Bank Account Policy’. The design of the Bachat bank account is simple in the following ways: the accounts are targeted to Kafaalat beneficiaries who can open these accounts at agent shops or ATMs and will offer savings on deposits.
Briefing about the forthcoming initiative, Dr Sania Nishtsr said, “A large percentage of the population in Pakistan is unbanked. We know that when people are excluded from the financial system, it has links to limited improvement in human development.”
Further adding, she stated, “Therefore, to include these people in the financial system, we are starting with enabling access to financial products and services. This access to saving accounts is the first step towards broader financial inclusion.”
Under the Rural Maintenance Program, women with no male earning members in the family were paid wages for maintaining village roads, but were required to enroll in a compulsory savings program, and 79% of the graduating women of this program continued to be self-employed after three years.
During the visit, the PM will also be briefed on the specialized key features of this financial inclusion initiative of Ehsaas.
Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries will have the option of either drawing their money or saving money into digital wallets. Ehsaas Savings Wallets will help the marginalized people plan for everything from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies.
