IslamicFinance.de

Financial inclusion in Uganda is expected to deepen following a move by Parliament to enact a new financial law hence paving way for Islamic banking in the country. The legislators passed the Financial Institutions (amendment) Bill 2015 on Jan.7, a decision that will see individuals who had been locked out of mainstream banking by virtue of their faith or religious affiliation able to access financial services with less hindrance, once signed into law. The law will also allow financial institutions to roll out agency banking as well as offer ‘bancassurance’ products. According to Bank of Uganda data, the country’s bank account holders stand at just four million — mainly from the urban areas — out of the bankable population of about 12 million people.