Financial exclusion is not caused only by constraints on the supply side of the financial market. Many people are discouraged from participation in formal sector financial markets because of a lack of knowledge, or misinformation, about financial products and insufficient knowledge about their rights as consumers of these products.
To address these problems, the BOU has launched a program to promote financial literacy, through educational activities. The BOU has also prepared consumer protection guidelines for commercial banks and publicized these in the media. To conclude, I want to emphasize the complex challenges facing policymakers. There are fundamental economic reasons for why large parts of the population are excluded from financial services.