Fair Digital Finance – World Consumer Rights Day 2022 Theme Announced
Every year, on March 15, the consumer movement celebrates World Consumer Rights Day, raising global awareness of consumer rights, consumer protection and empowerment. Consumers International is proud and privileged to coordinate this day of global collaboration, with 200 consumer advocacy members in over 100 countries. In 2021, 73 of our Members carried out local campaigns to ‘Tackle Plastic Pollution’. Collectively, we reached a total global audience of over 31 million consumers.
Today, Consumers International announce that the theme for World Consumer Rights Day 2022 is Fair Digital Finance.
The global consumer advocacy movement will call for fair digital finance for consumers everywhere. The movement will generate new consumer-centred insights and campaigns for digital finance that is inclusive, safe, data protected and private, and sustainable.
In a rapidly changing marketplace, World Consumer Rights Day will spark the first-ever global conversation, making the case for solutions that put consumer rights at the core of meaningful and long-lasting change.
About the theme
Digital technologies are reshaping payments, lending, insurance, and wealth management everywhere becoming a key enabler for consumers of financial services.
Digital financial services and financial technology have driven significant changes across the world:
- By 2024, digital banking consumers are expected to exceed 3.6 billion. (Juniper Research, 2020).
- In the developing world, the proportion of account owners sending and receiving payments digitally has grown from 57% in 2014 to 70% in 2017 (Findex 2017).
However, digital financial services have created new risks along with exacerbating traditional risks that can lead to unfair outcomes for consumers and leave those who are vulnerable behind in an increasingly cashless society.
There is strong evidence to suggest these risks have increased in recent years and crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic have enhanced these risks, where vulnerable consumers are more fragile due to economic hardship. Achieving fair digital finance for all requires a global, collaborative, and coordinated approach. The rapidly evolving and complex nature of digital financial services demonstrate the need for innovative regulatory approaches and digital financial services and products that centre consumer protection and empowerment.
It is more important now than ever to build on our knowledge and work together to understand what fair financial services looks like in a digital world, and what role consumer-centred financial services can play in global challenges like sustainability. 2022 will be a crucial moment for change with upcoming international policy moments such as the G20 and OECD review of High-level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection.
Our previous work in this area includes: “Banking on the Future: An Exploration of FinTech and the Consumer Interest” and “The role of consumer organisations to support consumers of financial services in low- and middle-income countries”.
Fair Digital Finance Forum (14-18 March 2022)
Consumers International will be hosting a week-long event starting on 14 March 2022, the Fair Digital Finance Forum. The Forum will spark the first-ever global conversation around consumer-centred solutions in digital financial services by bringing together diverse voices of consumer advocates and key marketplace actors in digital financial services to accelerate change. This global forum will showcase the work, perspectives, and ideas from consumer advocates around the world.
The Forum will kick-off with the Consumer Vision for Fair Digital Finance, offering insights from leaders in the consumer movement on what actions are needed to ensure fair digital finance that is inclusive, safe, data protected and private, and sustainable for consumers everywhere. The week of events will take the form of consumer-centred design sprints and incubators, high-level leadership dialogues and multi-stakeholder workshops, with representation from governments, business, academia, and civil society.
How to join the global movement this World Consumer Rights Day?
We invite all marketplace stakeholders to celebrate World Consumers Rights Day and collaborate with us to promote Fair Digital Finance.
What you can do:
- Collaborate with Consumers International and our Members for World Consumer Rights Day 2022 to support our Vision and/or take part in our Forum.
- Share information about your plans for World Consumer Rights Day 2022 or for any questions, email wcrd@consint.org.
- Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for all the latest news and announcements on World Consumer Rights Day 2022.
- Engage in this global conversation by using our hashtags #FairDigitalFinance and #BetterDigitalWorld on social media.
- Read about our previous work on Financial Services.