Fair Digital Finance Accelerator
Digital financial services are transforming people's lives worldwide.
With access to credit, savings and loans, families can prepare for financial shocks, young people can invest in their future, and women are empowered through increased financial independence.
But if people are to really benefit from financial inclusion, digital financial services must protect and empower consumers, everywhere.
Through the Fair Digital Finance Accelerator, Consumers International is helping consumer associations in low- and middle- income countries fight for a future where consumers worldwide can benefit from advancements in the digital finance sector. The initiative focuses on ensuring that these services are inclusive, safe, data-protected and sustainable.
ACCELERATING FAIR DIGITAL FINANCE IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES
Consumer advocates drive change through diverse advocacy channels and strategies, such as working alongside policy-makers to ensure regulation guarantees consumer protection, legal action, market research and complaints handling. For more, read our report with CGAP.
The Fair Digital Finance Accelerator leverages this power and scales the potential of consumer associations.
More than 75 consumer associations across the world, from Latin America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia are currently in the Fair Digital Finance Network. They protect vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers including women, children, older people and hard-to-reach communities. This vibrant and committed group see great potential for consumer protection within digital finance, by improving safety, data-protection and privacy and implementing effective consumer dispute and resolution mechanisms.
"Thanks to the Financial Digital Fair Accelerator, we developed a digital complaint platform to facilitate collective consumer complaints in the financial sector” says Fiorentina García from Tec-Check Organización de Consumidores (Mexico).
Select Members in the FDFA network include:
What we offer Network Members
- Access to a global community of financial service consumer advocates and experts
- Platforms, events and opportunities to build and strengthen advocacy channels with regulators
- Training modules designed for consumer advocates on cutting edge themes and coaching to drive local action
- Coordinated consumer advocacy campaigns at national and regional level
- Thought leadership and knowledge building, including case studies and our annual publication on the state of digital financial services in low- and middle-income countries
- Opportunities to apply for support for research and projects.
The Fair Digital Finance Accelerator is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with support from the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP).
"ANNA" National Association of Consumers Armenia, Acción del Consumidor (ADELCO, Argentina), ADDC-Wadata (Niger), ADECOR - Associação de Defesa do Consumidor (Angola), African Union of Consumers, Algerian Union for Consumer Algeria, Ambio (Costa Rica), Asociación Peruana de Consumidores y Usuarios (ASPEC, Peru), Associação para Defesa do Consumidor (ADECO, Cape Verde), Association Burundaise des consommateurs (Burundi), Association des Consommateurs de l'ile Maurice (ACIM, Mauritius), Association Ivoirienne de Consommateurs (AIC, Côte d'Ivoire), Association pour la Défense de l'environnement et des Consommateurs (ADEC, Senegal), Association pour la Défense des Droits des Consommateurs (ADC, Chad), Benin Santé et Survie du Consommateur, Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF, Nigeria), Centre for Technology Disputes Resolution (Uganda), Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG, India), Confeuropa Consumatori Association (Romania), Consumer Awareness Organisation (Nigeria), Global Consumer Centre (CONSENT, Uganda), Consumer Council of Fiji, Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, Consumer Eye Nepal, Consumer Protection Association (CAP, India), Consumer Protection Association of the Gambia, Consumer Voice (India), Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), Consumers Association of Penang (Malaysia), Consumers Korea, Consumers Lebanon, Consumers Union of Tajikistan, CUTS International (India), East Timor Consumers Protections Association- TANE Konsumidor, Educar Consumidores (Colombia), Fair Finance Thailand, Fédération des Associations de Consommateurs de Côte d 'Ivoire (FAC), Fédération Nationale des Associations du Consommateur-FNAC (Morocco), Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA), Instituo Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC, Brazil), Indonesian Consumers Organization, International Confederation of Consumer Societies (KONFOP, Russia), Kenya Consumers Organization, Laban Konsyumer Inc. (Philippines), Lembaga Konsumen Yogyakarta Consumers Institute, Indonesia), Liga de Defensa de los Consumidores de Nicaragua (LIDECONIC), Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP, India), Myanmar Consumers Union, Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios de Chile (ODECU), Regroupement pour la défense des consommateurs du Mali, Resource Rights Africa, Rwanda Consumer's Rights Protection Organisation (ADECOR), South Sudan Consumer Protection Organisation, St. Lucia National Consumers Association, Sudanese Consumers Protection Society, Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Research Organisation, Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society, Tec-Check Organización de Consumidores en Línea (Mexico), The Barbados Consumer Empowerment Network (BCEN), The Network for Consumer Protection in Pakistan, Tribuna Ecuatoriana de Consumidores y Usuarios (Ecuador), Tunisian Organization for Informing the Consumer, Uganda National Health Consumers' Organisation (UNHCO), Via Organica (Mexico), Việt Nam Standards and Consumers Association-VINASTAQ (VINASTAS), Yemen Association for Consumer Protection, Youth Education Network (Kenya).
The Fair Digital Finance Advisory Panel ensures the Accelerator is on the cutting edge of developments in digital finance policy and regulation. It is made up of policy experts and senior leaders from across consumer advocacy, business, regulation and civil society.
Ashley Onyango
Head of Financial Inclusion and AgriTech, Mobile for Development,GSMA
María José
Directora Ejecutiva,
Tribuna Ecuatoriana de Consumidores y Usuarios
Deon Woods Bell
Senior Advisor, Global Policy, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Anna Wallace,
SPO Consumer Protection and RegTech, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Juan Carlos Izaguirre
Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP
Eric Duflos
Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP
Maria Lúcia Leitão
Head of Banking Conduct Supervision Department, Central Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal)
Myra Valenzuela
Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP
Njuguna Ndung'u
Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury & Economic Planning.
Rosemary Shumirayi Chikarakara Mpofu
Executive Director, Consumer Council of Zimbabwe
Tamara Cook
CEO, Financial Sector Deepening Kenya
Camilo Tellez
Deputy Managing Director, Better Than Cash Alliance, UNDP
Youkyung Huh
Director of Digital and Financial Regulatory Policy, Consumers Korea
Join Fair Digital Finance Training Courses
Designed by experts in the field and in partnership with key stakeholders, our tailored training programme supports consumer associations in low- and middle- income countries to navigate the rapidly evolving world of digital finance.
Over three years Members will gain a comprehensive understanding of the sector with:
- Knowledge of the underlying mechanics of digital financial services
- Expertise in the consumer risks associated with digital financial services, such as fraud, scams, and data risks and the digital finance regulatory environment.
- Awareness of the specific challenges facing women and marginalised groups
- The skills to lead informed and effective conversations with regulators, governments and stakeholders.
If you are a Consumers International Member based in a low- and middle-income country you can join the Network and build a fair digital finance marketplace. Contact FDFA@consint.org to find out more.
Latest News
New report on maximising consumer impact in digital finance
We are excited to launch our report, "Maximising Consumer Voices in Digital Financial Services Policy-Making." This study, based on interviews with Consumers International Members across 13 countries, highlights innovative strategies by consumer organisations to enhance digital financial services. Designed primarily for low- and middle-income countries, it also offers valuable insights for high-income nations.
Campaign for transparent digital finance
Consumers International urges governments, civil society organisations, digital finance providers, and other stakeholders to endorse our multistakeholder call-to-action for greater transparency in digital finance. We seek to improve consumer understanding and trust through relevant, timely, and inclusive information for informed decision-making and protection from harm.
New training modules now available
We are excited to announce that all 9 modules of the Fair Digital Finance Accelerator Programme are now live and available in English, French and Spanish.
Collectively, these modules cover digital financial services models, regulatory processes, risk management, advocacy strategies, funding plans, sustainable finance, gender mainstreaming, and financial literacy and inclusion.
FDFA Members can access these here.
Meet the 2024 FDFA grantees
This year, Consumers International awarded funding to 11 Members from the FDFA Network in low- and middle-income countries to enhance national fair digital finance initiatives. These projects include capacity building, policy advocacy, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and the development of accessible digital tools. Key efforts focus on improving transparency, fraud detection, consumer literacy, stakeholder collaboration, and the creation of robust complaint and redress systems.
Latest blog
Ashley Olson Onyango, Head of Financial Inclusion and AgriTech at the GSMA, discusses the launch of Consumers International's new digital finance index, 'Digital Finance: The Consumer Experience in 2024', and the progress needed to deliver better outcomes for consumers in low- and middle-income countries.
Influencing
Our participation in the ITU Global Symposium for Regulators 2024 emphasised the need for affordable access to digital platforms for vulnerable consumers. Additionally, at the Cerise+SPTF annual meeting, we highlighted the importance of responsible, transparent, and inclusive digital finance ecosystems, advocating for the institutionalisation of the consumer voice in policy and business decisions.
Opinion
Consumers International has amplified our perspectives across platforms like FinDev Gateway, FinEquity blogs, and CGAP through insightful pieces such as "A Fair Digital Finance Market Failure: What a Recent Consumer Protection Index Reveals," "How Can We Design Consumer Protection That Builds Women’s Trust?," and "The Role of Consumer Organizations to Support Consumers of Financial Services in Low and Middle Income Countries." These contributions highlight our commitment to enhancing consumer protection and trust.