Tonga’s access to financial services is very much linked to the impact of COVID-19 over the year ended to June 2021, reflecting the increase in remittances and the use of digital financial services which are convenient for those sending remittances to Tonga. Social distancing and lockdowns have strengthened the use of digital financial services and remittances have supported the increase in deposit accounts.

Over the year ended June 2021, the MSMEs outstanding loans fell by $4.1 million (16.0%) to T$21.3 million compared to the year ended June 2020. This was mainly due to the decline in outstanding loans to agriculture, wholesale retail and manufacturing sector.

One of the Financial Access objectives is to improve the understanding and make better policies based on accurate and timely financial inclusion statistics and reports. To this end information on the financial services provided by Local Money Transfer services between Tongatapu and the outer islands to assist with assessing individual’s access to finance.