STAFF REPORTER KARACHI President Dr. Arif Alvi visited State Bank of Pakistan on Friday for a Roundtable Discussion on Financial Inclusion of Differently Abled Persons hosted by SBP Governor Dr. Reza Baqir. Senior officials of SBP, Presidents and CEOs of Banks and representatives of Network of Organizations Working for People with Disabilities, Pakistan (NOWPDP) also participated in this roundtable discussion. The Governor SBP welcomed the President and gave a detailed presentation on the two types of interventions by SBP for the differently abled persons. These include initiatives taken by SBP to facilitate the differently abled persons for accessing banking premises and services and, providing access to finance through various SBP refinance schemes. He informed the President about the regulatory instructions for the banks by SBP and its own initiatives to address the problems faced by different categories of differently abled persons and their progress since 2018. For people faced with challenges related to upper and lower limb, Reza Baqir shared with the President that various steps have been taken to facilitate them including providing preferential treatment/out of queue assistance; construction of ramps at the entrance of existing branches and ATM cabins to allow easy access to special persons and wheelchair users; relaxation in the requirement of biometric verification for account opening; and facilitation desks for special persons at SBP main building and its offices countrywide. Regarding steps taken by SBP to facilitate persons with visual impairment, Governor SBP informed the President about the special features of currency notes such as size, lines & dots; installation of Talking about ATMs; provision of ATM/Debit and internet banking facilities; and countrywide awareness sessions on features of currency notes. With respect to the second type of SBP interventions, Dr. Baqir apprised the President about two credit schemes supported by SBP for the financial inclusion of differently abled persons.
