Queen Maxima to visit Phl, to push financial inclusion

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands is scheduled to visit Manila next week in her capacity as United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA).

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She is expected to stay from May 21 to 23 and meet with President Marcos and top finance officials.

The visit will focus on advancing key foundational building blocks for financial inclusion – including connectivity, digital identification and digital payments – as well as enhancing financial health and resilience against economic and climate-related challenges for Filipinos. 

In recent years, the Philippines has seen considerable progress in financial access, with the proportion of adults owning a bank account rising from 26.6 percent in 2011 to 51.4 percent in 2021, as reported by the World Bank Global Findex.

However, despite these gains, data also show that the Philippines still has approximately 37.6 million unbanked adults, with the Findex data also highlighting significant concerns about financial resilience among Filipinos.