The Maya Declaration is a global initiative for responsible and sustainable financial inclusion issued by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion that aims to reduce poverty and ensure financial stability for the benefit of all. It is the first global and measurable set of financial inclusion commitments by developing and emerging economies.

Maya Declaration logo

The Maya Declaration is broad in nature, focusing on creating the right environment; implementing the correct framework; ensuring consumer protection measures are taken and using data to inform and track financial inclusion efforts. The declaration was made through AFI's network of financial institutions and, although no vote was taken, its common principles have been implicitly adopted by all the network's members.

History

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Since its launch at the 2011 Global Policy Forum (GPF) in Mexico, members of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) have made concrete financial inclusion targets, continued to implement in-country policy improvements and regularly shared progress updates on the AFI Data Portal (ADP).[1] The founding members were:

Accords over the years

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The Maya Declaration laid the groundwork for AFI members to develop and adopt a series of accords, action plans and statements that outline specific goals and target different aspects of financial inclusion over the years.

2013 Sasana Accord Launched at the 2013 AFI GPF in Kuala Lumpur, the Sasana Accord states that financial inclusion policies and strategies will see evidence- and data-based results while also contributing to the accelerated progress and measurement of impact. This makes evidence-based financial inclusion policy a priority by collecting and analyzing comprehensive data, tracking the changing profile of financial inclusion and producing comparable indicators in the network.
2015 Maputo Accord Launched at the 2015 AFI GPF in Maputo, Mozambique, the accord supports access to finance for SMEs to promote sustainable inclusive development and spur innovation. The accord followed on from Turkey's G20 Presidency, which made support for SMEs a key theme.
2016 Denarau Action Plan Launched at the 2016 AFI GPF in Nadi, Fiji, the action plan focuses on gender and women's financial inclusion, identifying measures that AFI members can take to increase the number of women with access to quality and affordable financial services globally to close the financial inclusion gender gap.
2017 Sharm El Sheikh Accord Launched at the 2017 AFI GPF in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the accord recognizes the dual threats of financial exclusion and climate change as key barriers to financial stability.
2018 Sochi Accord Launched at the 2018 AFI GPF in Sochi, Russia, the accord commits AFI members to developing regulatory or policy interventions that balance innovation in technology-based financial services with oversight.
2019 Kigali Statement Launched at the 2019 GPF in Kigali, Rwanda, the statement aims to accelerate the financial inclusion of disadvantaged groups.
2020 Statement on Post-COVID-19 Recovery Launched at the 5th AFI Annual General Meeting in 2020, the statement aims to enhance the network's commitment to restore the momentum and achieve financial inclusion goals through recovery policies following the COVID-19 global health pandemic.

A decade-long journey

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As of 2021, 10 years after its launch, almost 80 percent of AFI member institutions have made a Maya Declaration commitment. The 73 countries with institutional commitments are represented by 82 institutions that have collectively made 885 targets into the ADP.

AFI members include roughly 101 central banks and other financial regulatory institutions from nearly 90 emerging and developing economies.

AFI is committed to supporting its members in fully achieving their commitments to contributing towards more inclusive development and poverty alleviation.

Core values

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The Maya Declaration is the first global and measurable set of commitments made by developing countries to increase financial inclusion. It is underpinned by three core values that have sustained the impact of the platform:

  • Self-determination: Each institution sets its own targets in recognition of the fact that country circumstances vary and that there is no simple, off-the-shelf solution.
  • Peer-to-peer knowledge exchange: Harness mutual sharing and collaboration within the network to leverage practical and innovative policy solutions that address financial inclusion challenges.
  • International cooperation: Effective knowledge partnerships with policymakers and regulators from developed countries, multilateral corporations, research institutions, private sector and funders to enhancing inclusive finance

The Maya Declaration has paved the way for the development and implementation of various accords over the years. Each emphasizes a specific aspect of financial inclusion and corresponds to the needs of financial regulators and policymakers against the outlook of the financial sector.

Full text of Maya Declaration

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Maya Declaration on Financial Inclusion

We, the Members of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, a network of central banks, supervisors and other financial regulatory authorities met in Riviera Maya, Mexico, 28 to 30 September 2011, on the occasion of the Third AFI Global Policy Forum,

Recognize the critical importance of financial inclusion to empowering and transforming the lives of all our people, especially the poor, its role in improving national and global financial stability and integrity and its essential contribution to strong and inclusive growth in developing and emerging market countries;

Reaffirm the value of peer-to-peer knowledge exchange and learning among financial regulators and policymakers for the design and implementation of innovative financial inclusion policy solutions relevant to the developing world;

Recall our efforts over the last two years to strengthen and expand the AFI network and to identify and explore high-priority areas for financial inclusion policy in the developing world through AFI’s working groups;

Commit as a network of developing and emerging market financial regulators and policymakers to:

  1. Putting in place a financial inclusion policy that creates an enabling environment for costeffective access to financial services that makes full use of appropriate innovative technology and substantially lowers the unit cost of financial services;
  2. Implementing a sound and proportional regulatory framework that achieves the complementary goals of financial inclusion, financial stability, and financial integrity;
  3. Recognizing consumer protection and empowerment as key pillars of financial inclusion efforts to ensure that all people are included in their country’s financial sector;
  4. Making evidence-based financial inclusion policy a priority by collecting and analyzing comprehensive data, tracking the changing profile of financial inclusion, and producing comparable indicators in the network.

We remain dedicated to making financial inclusion a reality through concerted domestic and global actions, and actively sharing our knowledge and experience through the AFI network. We commit to delivering concrete financial inclusion outcomes for the developing world to provide sustainable, relevant, cost-effective, and meaningful financial services for the world’s financially unserved populations.

— Members of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion

Institutions with Maya Declaration commitments

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# Country AFI member institution
1 Angola Banco Nacional de Angola  
2 Argentina Banco Central de la República Argentina
3 Armenia Central Bank of Armenia
4 The Bahamas Central Bank of The Bahamas
5 Bangladesh Bangladesh Bank
Microcredit Regulatory Authority of Bangladesh
Ministry of Finance Bangladesh
6 Belarus National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
7 Bhutan Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan  
8 Brazil *Banco Central do Brasil
9 Burundi Banque de la République du Burundi
10 Cambodia National Bank of Cambodia
11 Chile Ministerio de Desarrollo Social de Chile
12 China People's Bank of China
China Banking Regulatory Commission  
13 Colombia *Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público de Colombia
14 Congo, Democratic Republic of Banque Centrale du Congo
15 Costa Rica Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras de Costa Rica
16 Côte d'Ivoire Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances de la Côte d'Ivoire
17 Dominican Republic Superintendencia de Bancos de la República Dominicana  
18 Ecuador *Banco Central del Ecuador  
19 Egypt Central Bank of Egypt
20 El Salvador Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador  
21 Eswatini Ministry of Finance of Eswatini
Central Bank of Eswatini
22 Ethiopia National Bank of Ethiopia
23 Fiji Reserve Bank of Fiji
24 The Gambia Central Bank of the Gambia
25 Ghana Bank of Ghana
26 Guatemala *Superintendencia de Bancos de Guatemala
27 Guinea Banque Centrale de la République de Guinée
28 Haiti Banque de la République d’Haiti
29 Honduras Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros Honduras  
30 Indonesia *Bank Indonesia  
31 Jordan   Central Bank of Jordan  
32 Kenya Central Bank of Kenya
33 Kyrgyz Republic National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic
34 Lesotho Central Bank of Lesotho
35 Liberia   Central Bank of Liberia  
36 Madagascar   Direction Générale du Trésor, Ministère des Finances et du Budget, Madagascar
37 Malawi Reserve Bank of Malawi
38 Mauritania Banque Centrale de Mauritanie
39 Malaysia Bank Negara Malaysia
40 Mexico Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores
41 Mongolia Financial Regulatory Commission of Mongolia
42 Morocco Bank Al-Maghrib  
43 Mozambique Banco de Moçambique
44 Namibia   Bank of Namibia
45 Nepal Nepal Rastra Bank  
46 Nigeria Central Bank of Nigeria
47 Pakistan   State Bank of Pakistan
48 Palestine Palestine Monetary Authority
49 Panama *Superintendencia de Bancos de Panamá
50 Papua New Guinea Bank of Papua New Guinea
51 Paraguay Banco Central del Paraguay
52 Peru Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP del Perú
53 Philippines Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
54 Russia Central Bank of the Russian Federation  
55 Rwanda National Bank of Rwanda
56 Samoa Central Bank of Samoa
57 São Tomé e Príncipe   Banco Central de São Tomé e Príncipe
58 Senegal Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances du Sénégal
59 Seychelles Central Bank of Seychelles
60 Sierra Leone Bank of Sierra Leone
61 Solomon Islands Central Bank of Solomon Islands  
62 Suriname Central Bank van Suriname
63 Tajikistan   National Bank of Tajikistan
64 Tanzania Bank of Tanzania
65 Timor-Leste Banco Central de Timor-Leste
66 Tonga National Reserve Bank of Tonga
67 Trinidad and Tobago Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago
68 Uganda Bank of Uganda
69 Uzbekistan Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan
70 Vanuatu Reserve Bank of Vanuatu
71 West Africa **Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO)
72 Zambia Bank of Zambia
73 Zimbabwe Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

* Former AFI member institution that made a commitment while active in the network.

** BCEAO represents Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

References

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  1. ^ "Fiji To Make New Commitments To Maya Declaration". Fiji Sun. September 9, 2016.
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