Each 15 March the consumer movement unites to highlight a pressing issue facing consumers globally.
This year, the Membership of Consumers International - 200 consumer groups in 100 countries - selected Fair Digital Finance as our global theme.
By 2024, digital banking consumers are expected to exceed 3.6 billion. In the developing world, the proportion of account owners sending and receiving payments digitally has grown from 57% in 2014 to 70% in 2017. Digital finance brings new opportunities – but also new risks that can lead to unfair outcomes for consumers. Digital finance can increase the likelihood that the most vulnerable are left behind.
This World Consumer Rights Day sparked the first-ever global conversation on the consumer vision for fair digital finance.
Consumers International hosted the Fair Digital Finance Forum from Monday 14 – Friday 18 March.
The Forum featured a unique and visionary series of events to galvanise stakeholders in accelerating progress towards fair digital finance. Importantly, the Forum featured and amplified World Consumer Rights Day which takes place each year on the 15 March.
The Forum provided an international and interactive space to demonstrate the power of the consumer movement and the opportunity of consumer protection and empowerment in product design and regulation.
In a global investigation by Consumers International and the Mozilla Foundation, 97% of people surveyed registered some level of concern about personalised pricing, with a lack of transparency and potential for unfairness identified as greatest risks.
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Digital financial services continue to deliver substantial financial inclusion benefits and provide life-changing opportunities to communities, especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. In fact, as the latest Findex report shows, account ownership has risen to 76% of the global population and stands at 71% in developing economies.
Despite these encouraging developments, the risks associated with digital financial services from a consumer protection viewpoint remain a concern. New research by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reveals that there are new consumer risks emanating from advances in digital financial services, centring around fraud, data misuse, a lack of transparency and inadequate redress mechanisms. However, the path to consumer protection in digital financial services is clear. Evidence from research by Consumers International and CGAP in 2021 plainly showed that engagement with consumers is key to strengthening consumer-centred regulations and policies and importantly, building trust with consumers.