A PILOT financial inclusion program called Saver Plus Fiji introduced by ANZ Fiji last year has proven that the model works for Fiji and the Pacific.
Saver Plus is a matched savings and financial education program – developed by ANZ and the Brotherhood of St Laurence in Australia in 2002 – that aims to help people on lower incomes to build financial knowledge, confidence and long-term savings habits.
The program was introduced in the country last year, and after the successful pilot and graduation of the first cohort in July this year, the bank has confirmed it will continue in Fiji next year.
The bank, in partnership with the UNDP and UN Women’s Markets for Change initiative, launched the Saver Plus Fiji Impact Report at the ANZ headquarters in Suva yesterday.
The pilot participants – market vendors and farmers that supply the Suva, Nausori and Ba municipal markets – completed a 10-month journey of goal setting, financial education and matched savings with the focus on helping them build lifelong savings habits.
The report revealed of the 71 enrolled participants, 60 graduated (85 per cent completion rate), saving a total of $36,981 with ANZ matching $29,039.
The report found improved financial wellbeing for the participants; the average financial wellbeing scores rose from 40 to 75 out of 100, reflecting greater resilience and confidence. It also found that 87 per cent of participants reported feeling more confident, managing their businesses and planning for the future; and participants also invested in equipment upgrades, stall renovations and business diversification.
ANZ Fiji country head Rabih Yazbek said Saver Plus “is a very powerful program”, having supported more than 60,000 Australians who had collectively saved $30million with the bank matching $26m in savings.
“New to Fiji and the Pacific but long running in Australia, I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to prove the model works in the Pacific. The pilot country was obviously Fiji but it was also rolled out in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Saver Plus is simple, practical and powerful. It begins with setting a savings goal, whether that’s to grow your business, invest in tools or equipment, or support your children’s education for example,” Mr Yazbek said.
He said participants had to attend their MoneyMinded program and their performance were also tracked over 10 months to ensure they were making regular deposits into their savings accounts.
“Every dollar saved, ANZ matches it with $1, and we cap that out at a total of $500, and that matched amount can be used for approved items related to the business or education.
“It’s a model that works. So now we know the matched savings program works in Fiji, we’ll roll it out across all our Pacific markets,” Mr Yazbek said.
RBF governor Ariff Ali commended the program saying with collaboration, training and the right messaging, people were willing to save. He also acknowledged the program and the impact it had made on the lives of people.
“I’m glad ANZ has said they’ll continue, and I hope there’s 10 other agencies that can say they can continue to do similar things,” Mr Ali said while launching the report.
“I think the key is we must make sure that people help themselves and come out of this thing with dignity and pride.”
