The Maya Declaration

Maya Declaration logo

The Maya Declaration is a global initiative for responsible and sustainable 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.

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).

As of October 2021, AFI member institutions have made a total of 885 Maya Declarations targets. 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.

## Contents

* 1 Background
* 2 Thematic areas
* 3 AFI accords
* 4 Maya Declaration: A decade-long journey
* 5 Full text of Maya Declaration
* 6 External links
* 7 References

## Background[edit]

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.

Founding members:

1. Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores
2. Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP del Peru
3. Reserve Bank of Fiji
4. Bank of Tanzania
5. Banque de la Republique du Burundi
6. Banque Centrale de la Republique de Guinee
7. Bank of Uganda
8. Central Bank of Kenya
9. Central Bank of Nigeria
10. Reserve Bank of Malawi
11. National Bank of Rwanda

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

## Thematic areas[edit]

AFI members report progress towards achieving their targets into the ADP, an integrated public database of financial inclusion policies, targets, regulations and outcomes that is powered by policymakers and regulators. The ADP empowers countries to share their financial inclusion stories, share knowledge and experience, and report their target progress to create a unique peer learning platform among the AFI members.

Thematic areas available on the ADP:

1. Agent banking
2. Digital financial services
3. Consumer empowerment and market conduct
4. Consumer protection
5. E-money
6. National financial inclusion strategies
7. Gender inclusive finance
8. Financial identity
9. Financial inclusion data
10. Inclusive green finance
11. SME finance
12. Credit information systems
13. Financial inclusion of forcibly displaced persons
14. Financial inclusion for youth
15. Financial integrity
16. Financial literacy and financial education
17. Financial stability
18. Global standards
19. Microcredit and microsavings
20. Microinsurance
21. Mobile Financial Services
22. Overarching national goals
23. Others

## AFI accords[edit]

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.

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.

|

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.
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.
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.
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.
Kigali Statement  | Launched at the 2019 GPF in Kigali, Rwanda, the statement aims to accelerate the financial inclusion of disadvantaged groups.
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.

## Maya Declaration: A decade-long journey[edit]

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.

List of 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
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.

## Full text of Maya Declaration[edit]

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:
a. 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;
b. Implementing a sound and proportional regulatory framework that achieves the complementary goals of financial inclusion, financial stability, and financial integrity;
c. 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;
d. 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.

## External links[edit]

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

## References[edit]