The Role of Regulatory Bodies and Other Role-Players in the Promotion of Financial Inclusion in South Africa

Abstract

The promotion of financial inclusion is vital for the combating of financial exclusion in
many countries, including South Africa. Nonetheless, most of the poor and low-income earners are
still struggling to have access to basic financial products and financial services in South Africa. This
status quo has been, inter alia, caused by several factors such as the lack of a specific statute for
financial inclusion, the lack of a specific regulatory body to enforce that statute and the adoption of
inadequate measures by the government and other role-players to effectively promote financial
inclusion for the poor and low-income earners in South Africa. It is against this background that this
article discusses the role of the government, regulatory bodies and other relevant role-players in the
promotion of financial inclusion in South Africa. In this regard, the role of the South African Reserve
Bank (SARB), the Banking Association South Africa (BASA), the National Consumer Tribunal
(NCT), the National Credit Regulator (NCR), the National Treasury and the National Consumer
Financial Education Committee (NCFEC), the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and the
Prudential Authority (PA) is discussed. This is done to investigate whether these regulatory bodies
and role-players have adopted adequate measures to robustly and consistently combat financial
exclusion of the poor and low-income earners in South Africa.