Women can now open an ‘easy account’ at any bank for just Rs 100: SBP deputy governor

• The easy account can be opened upon showing bank officials a National Identity Card (NIC) card
• Seema Kamil said about 18% of the accountholders are women, whereas a whopping 51% are men
• The central bank has also launched a financial literacy program for women's awareness.
  

Women can now easily open an account for just Rs 100 at any bank without paying the account opening charges and the minimum deposit fee requirement, Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Seema Kamil said on Thursday.

Appearing on Geo Pakistan, Kamil said that women run the household with limited resources. “Women can open an ‘easy account’ at any bank for Rs 100. The easy account can be opened only with an Identity Card (ID) card,” she added.

Women will be required to show proof of income if they decide to obtain a loan of an amount up to Rs500,000 or more, the SBP official said, adding that they will also be given profit on their savings for the account. 

“Easy account is for everyone, even students can also open the account. Banks give out loans for education, marriage, and house building, but women hardly know about such facilities,” Kamil lamented.

Read more: PM Imran Khan pleased with 'accelerating' response to Roshan Digital Account

Providing the women to men ratio among accountholders, Kamil said that only 18% of the accountholders are women, whereas, 51% accountholders are men.

She said that women can obtain business loans of up to Rs5 million at 5% interest. “Prime Minister’s Successful Youth Scheme allows women to take loans up to Rs1 million without collateral,” she added.

The successful youth scheme program has a quota for 25% women, she highlighted, adding that the central bank has also launched a financial literacy program for women's awareness in this regard.

The program will provide awareness to 1 million people – 50% of whom will be women, she said, stressing that women play a major role in the development of agriculture. She said that a large number of women are associated with this sector.

Speaking about the Roshan Digital initiative for overseas Pakistanis, the SBP official said that about 60,000 accounts have been opened in a span of three months.