Malaysia rises to 18th place in global financial inclusion index

Principal Malaysia CEO Munirah Khairuddin said the continued focus on digitalisation and other initiatives that eliminate barriers to people’s ability to save and invest will further improve financial inclusion across the country.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has improved its standing as a financially inclusive market as it rose two spots to 18th place out of 42 global markets in the 2023 global financial inclusion index by Principal Financial Group and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

Consumer data showed a significant positive increase in perceptions of financial inclusion across South-East Asia, wherein Malaysia jumped into the top half of the rankings for public perception, rising from 20th place to 15th.