3 ways to make digital finance more inclusive for all consumers

The way we spend, save and manage our money has changed drastically the past few decades. We’ve witnessed a digital financial revolution — one that seemed to promise access and inclusion for all.

And while the evidence shows digital financial services can be a catalyst for financial inclusion, there’s a problem: not everyone’s being taken along for the ride. Vulnerable consumers — people with disabilities, lower incomes, lower digital capabilities and/or people dealing with income shocks — experience digital finance differently.

Research by Consumers International shows they fall victim to scams more often, find it harder to make informed choices, and must seek redress more often. Over half (52%) have experienced scam victimization (as opposed to 19% of less vulnerable consumers) and 61% have difficulty understanding products or services (compared to 32%).

This tells us that vulnerability needs to be interpreted as a fluid concept. Most of us will be touched by some form of vulnerability in our lives. If we’re not already vulnerable, we’re a health, income or capability shock away from being so — and higher vulnerability directly correlates to negative financial outcomes.

A lack of inclusion and access is exacerbating these inequalities. But consumer groups, alongside regulators, providers and policy-makers, are working to make a difference. Here’s how.

Speaking with more consumers, more often, benefits everyone in two important ways.

First, it ensures a greater number of products are more relevant for a greater number of people. Consumers aren’t a homogenous group; we have distinct needs. Involving more consumers in conversation, and encompassing more of those distinct needs in decisions, will lead to better understanding, better products and better outcomes – for industry and consumers alike.

Second, speaking with consumers helps in determining actual outcomes, i.e. whether changes to services are really boosting people’s financial well-being. To truly understand this, we need to hear from consumers directly — and seek measurable evidence of greater consumer rights and well-being.

Nigerian consumer group Consumer Advocacy & Empowerment Foundation (CADEF), has been fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities. On speaking to hearing and visually impaired consumers earlier this year, CADEF’s Executive Director Chiso Ndukwe-Okafor said the hearing and visually impaired consumers it spoke to this year “felt overwhelmed by digital finance technology, excluded due to accessibility issues, and unsure about the security and ease of use”.

In response, CADEF offered awareness programmes tailored for people with disabilities and opened direct lines of communication with policy-makers through workshops and roundtables.

Following the roundtables, a committee was established to develop a bill of rights for people with disabilities. Ndukwe-Okafor said persons with disabilities reported feeling “more empowered, included, informed, and comfortable with digital finance” and more “capable of managing their finances in the digital age”.

Time and time again we’ve seen how a mindset of collaboration leads to better resolutions.

For instance, when it comes to accountability, it’s not uncommon for consumers to have to leap over multiple obstacles to lodge a complaint. Even when complaints mechanisms are in place, many consumer groups aren’t confident that complaints will be addressed.

To combat a lack of channels for consumer complaints in Mexico, Tec-Check created a collective complaints platform with consumers, supporting them in asserting their rights, presenting group complaints to the Federal Consumer Protection Agency and ensuring resolutions.

They collected valuable data while doing so, using an application programming interface (API) to analyse 95,000 complaints on social media to share consumer pain points with consumer protection institutions, policy-makers and companies.

Tec-Check’s work demonstrates the need and value of consumer groups acting as a bridge between users and providers to highlight user experience and ensure resolutions.

Vulnerable consumers can’t wait for change. It needs to happen now. And we all know that change happens faster when we call for it together. That’s why uniting to call for greater consumer protections is essential.

Where this is already happening, change is already happening. Take the issue of transparency. In 2024, 43% of consumer bodies identified it as a major issue in digital financial services.

Think terms and conditions being buried between multiple clicks, hidden in tiny font, or written in pure jargon. Consumers “agree” unwittingly, and are caught off-guard with unexpected charges further down the line – to the tune of £187 billion each year.

In 2024, more than 50 actors across the world’s finance community joined a campaign calling for greater transparency across the digital finance ecosystem. They demanded honest, accurate information for consumers when they needed it, in a format and language they’d understand.

It’s already seen success. The Barbados Consumer Empowerment Network (BCEN) celebrated in June when the Central Bank of Barbados enforced its mandatory Market Conduct Guidelines for Commercial Banks. The guidelines include having a robust, well-publicised dispute resolution system, clear disclosure of all fees and charges, and surveys to ensure customer needs are being met.

Maureen Holder, Executive Director of BCEN, reported the guidelines “instilled a sense of trust whereby customers can access the banking system knowing there’s some recourse, and relief, should they encounter challenges while doing business with commercial banks” and that while things are still not perfect, customers are more empowered to “make confident financial decisions and see better service delivery” from those banks.

More than 5 billion people use digital payments, and more than half the global population will likely be using digital banking services by 2026. But as those numbers grow, the number of potentially vulnerable consumers grows, too.

If we’re to realise the original promise of the digital financial revolution — of access, inclusion and ease of use for everyone — it’s imperative we start building with, and not just for, consumers.

We need to amplify consumer voices, help them shape the conversations we need to have, and work together to demand change and drive action, fast. Because true consumer care means not just taking people along for the ride, but ultimately, putting them in the driver’s seat.