Webinar

25
Oct
A Conversation about the handbook on consumer protection for inclusive finance

Friday, October 25, 2019

This webinar will discuss how the regulatory landscape is shifting with the advent of digital financial services, the challenges policymakers are facing, and the ways that the Handbook on Consumer Protection for Inclusive Finance can help regulators and the entire inclusive finance industry to strengthen consumer protection frameworks.

As digital technologies transform inclusive finance, with new providers, products, and delivery channels reaching out to the financially excluded, the need increases for effective legal and regulatory frameworks to protect low-income consumers. When considering the organizing question for Financial Inclusion Week 2019 “Financial Inclusion: For What?” the theme of equity looms large. If the rules of the road for digital financial services (DFS) aren’t predictable, balanced between mitigating consumer risks and fostering innovation, or considering the voice of consumers, financial inclusion cannot deliver on its promises of fair access, fair use, or fair treatment. A sound legal framework for consumer financial protection will support financial inclusion and innovation, allow new products and services to responsibly reach previously underserved consumers, and provide for empowered and capable regulators to oversee and enforce these frameworks.

The Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and DLA Piper/New Perimeter are pleased to launch updated and revised guidance for financial consumer protection regulators tackling the risks and opportunities introduced by digital financial services. The Handbook on Consumer Protection for Inclusive Finance, a joint project between experts at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, Accion, and DLA Piper/New Perimeter, presents updated and revised guidance for consumer financial protection regulators organized around the Smart Campaign’s Client Protection Principles regarding the unique characteristics of DFS, with an emphasis on digital credit.