Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday inaugurated the Ehsaas Saving Wallets (Ehsaas Bachat Bank Account) initiative in Islamabad.

In his address, the Prime Minister congratulated Dr. Sania Nishtar and her entire Ehsaas team, after the World Bank recently acknowledged the Ehsaas program as the fourth largest social protection intervention globally in terms of the number of people covered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know that during the coronavirus pandemic the poorest were the hardest hit. Millions of people have fallen below the poverty line in the past year due to the lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which leads to economic shutdown affecting the livelihoods of daily wagers the most,” he said.

Prime Minister said that the Ehsaas saving wallet initiative launched today is of key importance. "The initiative is important because of two reasons, firstly, it is known that if more people enter into a country's banking system the poverty level decline. Secondly, empowering women through financial inclusion i.e. bringing them into the financial system accelerates the rate of reduction of poverty in a country," said Khan, while sharing details of similar steps taken by other countries including Niger, Kenya, Bangladesh etc.

He said that no country could achieve greatness until its marginalized communities are not empowered.

On the occasion, Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar briefed the Prime Minister about the Ehsaas Saving Wallets.

In her remarks, Nishtar said the social safety net will be further expanded and one window facility will be opened at Tehsil level to integrate all Ehsaas programs under one roof.

She informed that the first one window facility will soon be opened in Islamabad.

As per details, the Ehsaas Saving Wallets (ESWs) initiative, which is part of the Ehsaas Strategy is predicated on the understanding that digital and financial inclusion will open avenues for women to take better advantage of opportunities offered under the Ehsaas National Poverty Graduation Initiative.

ESWs is also an essential component of the Ehsaas Financial Inclusion Strategy, which was launched by the Prime Minister Imran Khan in the presence of H.E. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands when she visited Pakistan in Nov 2019.

The saving wallets initiative is a step forward for Kafaalat households to better manage financial shocks, meet emergency needs, and invest to increase their earnings; to climb out of poverty. The aim of this programme is to encourage savings which have shown to help alleviate poverty.

The Ehsaas Bachat account is expected to deepen the financial inclusion initiated under the ‘One Woman One Bank Account Policy’.

Additionally, the accounts will offer savings on deposits.

The design of the Bachat bank account is simple in the following ways: the accounts are targeted to Kafaalat beneficiaries; beneficiaries can open these accounts at agent shops or ATMs; and initial transactions through these accounts will include balance inquiry, cash in and cash out, transfer funds received from Ehsaas to mobile accounts, mobile top-up, utility bill payments and money transfers etc.

The initiative will allow Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries the option of either drawing their money or saving money into digital wallets. The government is of the view that Ehsaas Savings Wallets will help the marginalized people plan for everything from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies.