Research & Analysis
Publication

Elevating the Collective Consumer Voice in Financial Regulation

Elevating the collective voice of digital financial services (DFS) consumers can give them more say and more power in the financial sector. Through a stronger consumer voice, regulators will gain a better understanding of the risks facing consumers and adapt regulations accordingly, thus making financial services more responsible. Through its research, CGAP identified three opportunities to elevate the consumer voice that deserve support: consumer groups and  associations; regulatory consultative bodies; and technologies that elevate the consumer voice. This paper explores the potential impact of incorporating the collective voice of consumers into financial sector policy and regulation, and opportunities for funders to help elevate these voices.

Related Resources

FinDev Gateway

The Role of Consumer Organizations

Consumer associations can play an important role in improving consumer protection in low- and middle-income countries. This report by Consumers International was supported by CGAP as part of an effort to “elevate the collective consumer voice” in financial regulation.

Blog

3 Ways to Elevate the Consumer Voice in Financial Regulation

When consumers have a say in the financial regulations that affect them, it usually makes regulations more impactful. Here are three opportunities to ensure consumers' voices are heard.
Blog

How Peru Is Elevating the Collective Consumer Voice

The steps Peru has taken to ensure consumers have a strong voice in financial consumer protection regulation may be instructive for other countries working to protect vulnerable consumers.
Topic: Enabling and Responsible Financial Policy
Sub-topics: Consumer Protection

Related Research

Reading Deck

Social Media Monitoring to Assess Consumer Risks in Digital Credit Apps: Guidance for Supervisors from an India Pilot

To better understand the digital consumer credit and the risks they pose for customers, this reading deck contains supervisory guidance on the use of a branch of AI, Natural Language Processing (NLP), for social media monitoring. It is based on insights and lessons from an India pilot and provides examples of social media analyses carried out as part of that pilot.
Reading Deck

Customer Outcomes-Based Approach to Consumer Protection: A Guide to Measuring Outcomes

Based on a pilot involving the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and five financial services providers (FSPs) in South Africa, this deck shares lessons on how financial supervisors and FSPs can measure customer outcomes, which reflect the experiences and results of a customer's access to and use of financial services.
Reading Deck

The Evolution of the Nature and Scale of DFS Consumer Risks: A Review of Evidence

While digital financial services have delivered substantial financial inclusion benefits and unlocked life-changing opportunities for consumers, CGAP’s latest research finds that they have exacerbated existing consumer risks and continue to introduce new and ever-evolving risks—some outgrowing consumer adoption rates.