Rafe Mazer

Rafe Mazer works with CGAP's Policy Team on applying behavioral research to consumer protection and financial inclusion. For more than five years he has been designing and leading behavioral research projects with policymakers, providers and donors to help understand how our behaviors impact financial decisions and outcomes.

Research issues Rafe has explored include: Does digital delivery credit change how we borrow and save? Why do financial sales staff sometimes give the right advice, and others times mislead consumers? Do consumers really care about their data privacy in financial inclusion? Why do some consumers choose to complain about a problem, while others remain silent?

This research has been used to develop a range of financial inclusion solutions, including interactive SMS for mobile savings and credit, key facts statements and disclosure regulations, complaints handling regulations, data disclosure messaging, and regulations for consumer protection in digital financial services. He has led research in markets including Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines, and Tanzania.

By Rafe Mazer

Blog

Agents for Everyone: Removing Agent Exclusivity in Kenya & Uganda

Mobile money and banking agents blend seamlessly into the daily economic lives of consumers in countries like Kenya and Uganda, offering convenience and expanding access points to financial services. But agent exclusivity clauses can limit customers' choices.
Blog

Improving Recourse Systems in Digital Financial Services

Effective complaints handling, or recourse, reassures users of new financial services that problems can be resolved and that their money is protected. A new CGAP brief highlights the keys to improving recourse systems in digital financial services.
Blog

What Information Do Customers Need to Make Informed Decisions?

We know more today than every before about how customers use financial services. But we still don’t know enough about what information customers access about products they are considering, and how this informs their financial decisions.
Blog

Instant, Automated, Remote: The Key Attributes of Digital Credit

Three attributes - instant, automated, and remote - underscore the power of digital credit and its ability to scale quickly.
Blog

Competition & Mobile Financial Services: Move Past "Test & Learn"

A country’s approach to policymaking in mobile financial services can have a big impact on the competitive landscape. A flexible, "test and learn" approach has helped foster innovation, but may begin to have adverse consequences for competition and consumer protection.