The lack of efficient financial service provision means that poor people are either forced to use inefficient provisions, often at high cost (for instance, with high transactions costs, excessively high interest rates on loans, or poor returns on savings) thereby entrenching poverty – or they do not have access to certain financial products, either because of an absolute absence of suitable products or because available products are too expensive;  ii. This in turn tends to restrict the economic opportunities open to the poor and makes the poor vulnerable to adverse events and financial loss (e.g. due to the lack of insurance and secure savings products);  2  Access Financial Services Limited and Access Leasing Limited were placed under statutory management of the Bank of Zambia on 13 January 2003. 2  BIS Review 99/2008  iii. The absence of savings products makes it difficult to build up capital; and  iv. As the poor are faced with the high costs of accessing financial services, and are denied entrepreneurship opportunities that might provide them with a chance to earn an income, poverty becomes entrenched. In the recent past, it is gratifying to note that financial sector in Zambia has begum to demonstrate that it is reasonably efficient, sound and profitable. Since the many bank closures of the mid- to late-1990s following stiff competition and the tightening of regulation and oversight through the promulgation of the Banking and Financial Services Act (BFSA) in 1994 we have not experienced any serious banking crisis.
Ravi Menon: FinTech in its element - water, metal, fire, wood, earth Speech by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2022, Singapore, 3 November 2022. ***  Good morning, and welcome to Day 2 of the Singapore FinTech Festival. It's great to be able to meet in person after three long years. Pandemic and lockdowns notwithstanding, FinTech innovation has marched on briskly. If anything, digitalisation has gathered pace and become more pervasive. Yes, in the realm of a crypto assets, a harsh winter has set in, even fears of an Ice Age. But I believe it is an overdue cleansing of unsustainable business models, highly risky practices, and unviable use cases. The digital asset industry will emerge leaner and stronger. But more of that later. FinTech in Singapore has continued to push new frontiers. There has been a surge in collaborations across businesses, financial institutions, FinTech start-ups, and even central banks. In 2021, FinTech investments in Singapore hit a high of $ billion, compared to $ billion in 2019. I will focus my remarks today on five key problems that FinTech collaboration in Singapore is trying to solve. These problems will resonate with many industry players as among the biggest pain points crying for a solution. But before we get into the problems, some wisdom from ancient China. According to the Chinese philosophy of Wu Xing, there are five fundamental elements that function as cosmic agents of change: Water, Metal, Fire, Wood, Earth.