BEIJING, Jan. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today announced it will partner with the China Foundation for Development of Financial Education (CFDFE) to build a "China Financial Inclusion and Education (Jinhui Project) International Demonstration Zone" in the Great Xing'an Mountain Poverty Alleviation Area. Also, in a strategic partnership, Visa and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) will conduct a mobile-phone based financial education pilot program in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and explore a new mode of targeted poverty alleviation.
The strategic partnership and program underscore Visa's long-term commitment to China. Visa will continue to work with government institutions, industry organizations and non-governmental organizations to support global goals of alleviating poverty, promoting transparency and fostering inclusive social and economic development.
Visa will work with CFDFE to undertake financial education of farming households and capacity building for employees of local financial service providers in 33 poverty-stricken counties in Heilongjiang Province, Jilin Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. From 2016 to 2018, Visa will, together with CFPA, launch a mobile phone-based financial inclusion and education project. Leveraging mobile technology, the program will:
To kick-start these initiatives, Shirley Yu, Country Manager of Visa China, signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) respectively with Chu Bende, Chairman of CFDFE and Liu Dongwen, Deputy General Secretary and General Manager of CFPA Microfinance. Witnessing the MOUs signing were Wu Xiaoling, Deputy Director of National People Congress's Financial and Economic Committee and Honorary Chairwoman of CFDFE, Charlie Scharf, CEO of Visa Inc., and Liu Wenkui, General Secretary of CFPA.
"Over the last decade, Visa has been promoting financial inclusion and education, aiming to expand access to Visa's products and services globally. Last year, we made a public commitment to support global efforts to provide another 500 million people with digital payments accounts as an entry point to the financial system by 2020," said Charlie Scharf, CEO of Visa Inc. He added, "In the last three years, we have supported and participated in the rural financial education activities conducted by CFDFE in central and western China. In the next three years, the cooperation between CFDFE and Visa will enter a new phase with the establishment of 'International Demonstration Zone' and the launch of a series of financial education and capacity building programs. These demonstrate our full commitment to continuously promote inclusive development and growth and also support the development of financial inclusion in China."
Wu Xiaoling, Deputy Director of NPC Financial and Economic Committee and Honorary Chairwoman of CFDFE, said, "CFDFE will work with Visa to conduct the 'Jinhui Project' in the Great Xing'an Mountain Poverty Alleviation Area. Guided by the principles of targeted poverty alleviation and poverty elimination, we will combine financial education with rural financial infrastructure improvement, rural financial product innovations, rural payment channel expansion and rural credit system establishment, conduct rural financial education and training in poor areas extensively and advance the development of poverty alleviation and inclusive finance."
Liu Wenkui, General Secretary of CFPA, said, "Poverty alleviation relies on education. CFPA Microfinance is committed to providing financial services to the rural market and we plan to conduct the 'Act of Benefiting the Countryside -- Ten Thousand Financial Literacy Trainings' this year, covering rural residents from over 160 counties in 18 provinces. With Visa's support, CFPA Microfinance will conduct a pilot project in Inner Mongolia which will benefit 40,000 people in the first round of financial training programs. As CFPA Microfinance's business expands, the project will be promoted in all its branches across China."
Alleviating poverty through financial services is an undertaking that requires effort from both the financial sector itself, and cooperation with governmental departments and organizations at all levels. CFDFE, CFPA and Visa will operate the rural financial inclusion and education program in the International Demonstration Zone, in accordance to the guidance of the PBOC and CPAD as well as the principles of China's Development Plan of Inclusive Finance (2016 - 2020). The goal is to build a model financial inclusion and education project in the International Demonstration Zone during China's 13th Five-year Plan (2016-2020) period, which also serves a best practice role model for Public-Private Partnership.
About China Foundation for Development of Financial Education (CFDFE)
CFDFE was founded in 1992, governed by the People's Bank of China. As the only national public fund-raising foundation in the Chinese financial system, it takes advancing financial education as its mission. In 2008, "Project Jin Rong Hui Min", known as "Jinhui Project", was conducted in central and western China, as proposed by Chairwoman Wu Xiaoling, aiming at advancing rural financial innovation, improving rural credit and financial environment and increasing the availability of financial services in rural areas through financial literacy education, therefore empowering the development of poverty alleviation.
About China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA)
Founded in 1989, CFPA is a national public welfare organization engaging in poverty alleviation, registered at the Ministry of Civil Affairs and led by CPAD. It takes continuously discovering and solving social problems as its mission and aims at building the most reliable, most promising and most respectable global platform of public welfare. Targeting different causes for poverty, CFPA is commited to improving health conditions, promoting equal access to education, advancing the development of rural commnities and conducting humanitarian aid in the event of disasters. By the end of 2014, CFPA had collected poverty alleviation funds and goods worth 13.089 billion RMB, benefiting poor people and disaster-affected people over 20 million times. CFPA is now the largest and most influential public welfare organization for poverty alleviation in China.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Behind the development of digital currency, there is VisaNet, one of the world's most advanced processing networks, which is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.
Media Contact:
Peter Wong
Corporate Communications, Visa China
E-mail: pewong@visa.com
