Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian Minister ofFinance Sri Mulyani said on March 29 that financial exclusion remains a majorchallenge and also a crucial factor in ASEAN countries' economies, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Speaking at a high-level dialogue seminar on promotingfinancial inclusion and literacy for MSMEs in Badung district, Bali, theminister said the development of digital technology and economy in the regionis supposed to help turn financial exclusion into financial inclusion.

There are several ASEAN countries that still do nothave a financial inclusion index, Mulyani said, noting that the conditionreveals the large gap existing among countries in the region in terms offinancial inclusion.

Mulyani also drew attention to the rapid developmentgrowth of digital technology and economy in the ASEAN after three years of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has provided a promising opportunity, notonly for countries to adapt to the way they work but also for the ASEAN region,as a whole, especially for MSMEs.

The ASEAN digital economy is expected to growsignificantly in 2025, she stated.

The minister further noted that after the COVID-19pandemic, the impact of the digital economy has become even more important, asit has become a kind of game changer.

For several countries, the digital economy hassucceeded in enabling and also accelerating the use of electronic money fromsmartphones, financial technology services, and online banking.

She said that the aforementioned services pave a bigway for MSMEs to participate in developing financial inclusion.

Digital services have enhanced and deepened thefinancial sector and at the same time improved access to formal financialproducts and services, Mulyani said./.