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.

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 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). The founding members were: Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP del Peru Reserve Bank of Fiji Bank of Tanzania Banque de la Republique du Burundi  Banque Centrale de la Republique de Guinee Bank of Uganda Central Bank of Kenya Central Bank of Nigeria Reserve Bank of Malawi National Bank of Rwanda

Accords over the years 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. 2013Sasana AccordLaunched 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.2015Maputo AccordLaunched 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.2016Denarau Action PlanLaunched 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.2017Sharm El Sheikh AccordLaunched 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.2018Sochi AccordLaunched 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.2019Kigali StatementLaunched at the 2019 GPF in Kigali, Rwanda, the statement aims to accelerate the financial inclusion of disadvantaged groups.2020Statement on Post-COVID-19 RecoveryLaunched 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 , 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 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

Institutions with Maya Declaration commitments # 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 6Belarus National Bank of the Republic of Belarus 7Bhutan 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 Valores41 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 71West 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

External links Alliance for Financial Inclusion Full Text of the Maya Declaration (PDF): English| Spanish | French