Clients Speak on Client Protection: Findings from ASKI
This report presents findings from a study conducted by ASKI, an MFI in the Philippines, and MicroSave on ASKI's adherence to client protection principles (CPPs) developed by the Smart Campaign. The study used MicroSave's ServQual tool to measure the relevance of CPPs among ASKI's urban and rural microfinance clients. ASKI's clients affirmed the importance of all seven CPPs and gave the institution a rating of 2.91 on a 3.0 point rating scale, indicating a high level of adherence to the CPPs. Findings include:
- Clients most valued Fair and Respectful Treatment and Appropriate Product Design and Delivery;
- Clients wanted ASKI to improve communication of interest rates on capital build-up (CBU), frequency of CBU balance updating, and adequacy of loan size;
- Clients gave a perfect score of 3.0 to 3 principles, namely Fair and Respectful Treatment of Clients, Prevention of Over-Indebtedness, and Privacy of Client Data.
The study recommends that ASKI should adopt ServQual to track adherence to client protection. ServQual can serve multiple functions such as improving knowledge and skills of staff and clients on client protection, and providing board and management with social information to ensure sustained adherence to client protection.
