Financial inclusion critical to easing money worries in Asia

AS SINGAPORE and other countries around the world move beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, deep-seated financial concerns are coming back into the spotlight.

In 2020, the pandemic was the world’s biggest worry, as captured by the What Worries the World annual survey from global market research firm Ipsos. But just a year later, the same survey found that concerns about poverty, inequality and unemployment had returned to the fore.

In Asia, concerns about financial security are ever present. At the outset of the pandemic, more people in Asia were worried about their financial security than catching the virus itself, according to a Kantar survey. As Asia finally begins looking beyond the pandemic, we must look at our societal finances and find ways to help vulnerable populations put financial worries behind them, too.