Financial Profiling and Possible Financial Inclusion of Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia

Abstract

This article provides a critical examination of the current extensive promotion of 'financial inclusion for refugees'. The current system largely ignores refugees from the marketplace, and they are not very visible in their host country financial service providers, particularly in the Malaysia narrative. This article establishes financial profiling, examining the possible financial inclusion of unbanked refugees, particularly Rohingyas in Malaysia. Hence, this study distributed questionnaires to 306 Rohingya refugees registered in UNHCR. The findings reveal that some refugees are unaware of financial service providers, especially digital financial services such as E-wallet. However, they were fascinated by having access to affordable and suitable financial services. The paper further explores the possible financial and economic impact of extending financial services to unbanked refugees. This study is amongst the pioneer in Malaysia, exploring challenges in the financial inclusion of refugees. The results are relevant to governments, financial regulators, and central banks to structure the right interventions to counter the challenges of extending financial services to this group.