‘Digital technologies are reshaping payments, lending, insurance, and wealth management’

“Every year, on March 15, the world celebrates Consumer Rights Day. This year, consumers’ movement is raising awareness on Digital Finance. Two years back, when the pandemic hit our planet, the financial arena was very little prepared to face the situation. As the months drove by, banks, businesses and other financial institutions had to adapt and change their old way of operating.

“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. As a consumer organisation we salute these adaptations.

“Now that things are going back to normal, we should not stop these practices, but carry on with them and improve them. As we celebrate our day, we would like consumers to be more aware, we make an appeal to our young consumers, those who are digitally literate as well as those who are digitally illiterate; we are talking about our youth, who manipulate digital gadgets and our elders who are slower or who do not know how to use those system.

“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.

“Our young consumers, be careful, digital finance is money, and money nowadays are hard and difficult to get. Paying bills have become easier nowadays, we no more need to go to a bank, shops or a utility office, from our chair in our office we can do our payment by clicking a few buttons or do our shopping online. You no more need paper money, you can pay with your cards or e-money from your phone. Be careful. Do your monthly budget, plan your spending. Parents you should always keep an eye on your credit or debit card, your kids, can at any time do shopping and pay from their phone. We encourage you to know what your kids are doing on their computer using internet.

“There are also our digitally illiterate members, our grandparents, who met the digital system late in their lives and were not at that time interested in it. If they are not taught how to use the system, they will be lost and their savings gone. There is an urgency for banks to develop easy and accessible digital finance system, so that the less digitally educated members of our population can get access and use the system safely. We are urging financial institutions to think about all consumers and customers, give them the best services you can offer. Be fair with everybody, give everybody a fair deal.

“Natcof (National Consumers Forum) is urging financial institutions to join us and generate new consumer-centred insights and campaigns for digital finance that is inclusive, safe, data protected and private, and sustainable.

“It is more important now than ever to build on our knowledge and work together to understand what fair financial services look 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.

“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.

“We wish our consumers, a happy Consumer Rights Day, practice safe digital shopping at all time.”

Source: Seychelles Nation