ENAR webzine: financial in/exclusion of ethnic minorities
ENAR, the network of organisations in the EU that try to combat racism has published a new issue of their online magazine. This issue deals with the topic of financial inclusion and exclusion of ethnic minorities. The access of migrants and ethnic minorities to banking services and microfinance has been ignored to a large extent, even though there is a close link to their broader social exclusion. In Europe, it has become a necessity to have access to virtual money, to have a credit card and bank account. Nevertheless, ethnic minorities often have to face discrimination by banks, they encounter obstacles in obtaining microfinance, or they can be simply limited by their low financial literacy.
The magazine first gives an overview of the framework of financial inclusion. Then it provides testimonies of migrants and cases in which they encountered obstacles related to their legal status and lack of fixed address. It also focuses on the question of microfinance and the project of the European Commission to facilitate it. We can also read about the problems of Islamic finance in Europe and about the practice of the Triodos Bank. Finally, we are provided with a proposal of best practices in financial inclusion of ethnic minorities, that is accompanied by the example of the Catalan Roma FAGIC organisation.
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Zdroj: ENAR