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The Evolving Nature and Scale of Consumer Risks in Digital Finance

New consumer risks in digital finance are emerging, especially around data misuse and fraud. Meanwhile, familiar risks like data breaches are speeding up, not slowing down. New approaches to consumer protection are needed.

Is It Possible to Estimate Financial Stress Before It Harms Borrowers?

A tool piloted by CGAP and 4G Capital reliably measures changes in borrower behavior to detect financial stress. If stress indicators are found to predict future repayment, the tool could also serve as an early warning system for issues like default.

Analyzing Social Media to Spot Digital Consumer Credit Risks in India

Last year, news reports emerged of aggressive debt collection amid India's digital credit boom. New research shows that early warning signs on social media preceded the reports, highlighting the value of social media for consumer protection.

Digital Consumer Credit in India – Time to Take a Closer Look

As media reports of abusive lending practices emerge amid India’s digital consumer credit boom, the country can steer digital credit in a more promising direction by ramping up its efforts to listen to consumers and taking the necessary actions.

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.

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.

Debt Moratoria in the Next Pandemic: Be Prepared, and Be Fair

Moratoria have been an important part of the COVID-19 response for millions of low-income borrowers. Reflecting on the COVID-19 experience, here are four ways moratoria could work better in a future crisis.

Data Privacy Concerns Influence Financial Behaviors in India, Kenya

For digital financial services providers looking for a competitive edge in developing economies, better data privacy features could be the answer, according to CGAP research from India and Kenya.

COVID-19: Risks for Borrowers as Economies Reopen

With COVID-19 lockdowns putting stress on both consumers and lenders, the stage is set for consumer protection challenges around the provision of credit.

Study Shows Kenyan Borrowers Value Data Privacy, Even During Pandemic

Research in Kenya shows that low-income borrowers value data privacy so much that most are willing to pay higher interest rates for better privacy protections, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial Consumer Protection: 3 Steps to Better Customer Outcomes

Here are three steps that regulators can take to advance a customer outcomes-based approach to financial consumer protection.

Customers Want Data Protection: How Can Open API Providers Deliver?

Open APIs can benefit digital financial services providers and low-income customers alike, but they pose data protection and privacy challenges. Here are some tips on how providers can address those challenges.

Financial Scams Rise as Coronavirus Hits Developing Countries

As COVID-19 (coronavirus) spreads in developing countries, a surge in financial scams requires action from governments and financial services providers.

India’s Proposed Data Protection Bill Breaks from Notice and Consent

The proposed bill would mark a significant advance in rethinking how to protect digital consumer rights, putting India at the forefront of modern data protection regimes.

Digital Finance: Cybersecurity Requires Deeper Industry Collaboration

Cybercrime poses a significant threat to financial inclusion. Here are two things mobile financial services providers and industry associations must do to make financial services safer and more trustworthy for low-income customers.

Risk Alert: Development Community Support Needed for Cybersecurity

Here are four things the development community can do to improve cybersecurity as digital financial services expand in developing countries.

It’s Time to Change the Equation on Consumer Protection

For financial inclusion to work for the poor, it’s time to move beyond consumer protection frameworks that are more about protecting providers than customers.

We Need to Talk About Credit

Digital credit is a testament to the ways in which technology and new business models can assist in the expansion of financial services to low-income households. But it also points to potential hazards of letting a market develop unchecked.

6 Data Protection Rights for Empowering People in the Digital World

The digital economy presents an opportunity to provide greater rights to individuals exactly when it matters.

3 Data Protection Approaches That Go Beyond Consent

Consent forms are the backbone of data protection efforts worldwide, but there’s a problem: no one reads them. To protect people’s data, policy makers must go beyond consent.