Consumers International

11/08/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 11/08/2024 02:33

Three things we've learned about building a consumer-first marketplace in digital financial services

Three things we've learned about building a consumer-first marketplace in digital financial services

08 November 2024

From online banking to Buy Now, Pay Later, digital financial services (DFS) have opened up a new world of opportunity for consumers. They've allowed us more control over our money, greater flexibility, and more convenient, efficient access to our accounts. Inevitably, DFS also presents new risks and challenges for consumers. As the delivery of financial services for consumers is digitised, the urgency to close the digital gap becomes greater, as does the need to address mounting issues such as protecting consumer privacy and safeguarding data.

When services are built for consumers, it only makes sense that they be built in collaboration with them. With consumer voices at the forefront of DFS development, services ultimately become fairer, safer, more sustainable and reach their max potential. But such an approach isn't the default.Right now it's down to consumer advocacy groups to ensure that the DFS marketplace is truly consumer-centric.

So, what are the obstacles? First, we are yet to achieve equal access to digital services - one third of the global populationremains offline and women in lower income countries are 52 percent less likelyto have internet access than men . Second, different demographics have different needs - 'consumers' are not one homogenous group and so cannot be represented fairly if they are considered as such. Third, consumer groups, particularly in low and middle-income countries, are underfunded and in many nations, there are no legal obligations for governments to financially support them.But progress is being made. Since the launch of our Fair Digital Finance Accelerator(FDFA) - an initiative helping consumer associations in low and middle income countries advocate for fair digital finance - around one-third of our consumer association Members have reported consumer-friendly changes in consumer protection policies in their countries. Where change has happened, Consumers International Members have often been involved. This is what we can learn from their work so far.