In the context of World Consumer Rights Day, to which we associate ourselves, Euroconsumers is proud to join Consumers International and its 200 member organisations across the globe to raise awareness of fair digital finance for consumers everywhere.
March 15 is the World Consumer Rights Day, a day to raise awareness and drive meaningful change on consumer issues. The theme for World Consumer Rights Day 2022 is Fair Digital Finance. While digital finance has vast potential to create opportunities for all, digital financial services have also made new risks that can lead to unfair outcomes for consumers.
To make this engagement concrete, Euroconsumers’ member organisations will run a series of activities focusing on different aspects of digital finance throughout the week.
- On Tuesday 15 March, our Spanish member OCU will have a series of activities promoting inclusive finance.
- On Wednesday 16 March, our Belgian member Test-Achats/Test-Aankoop will promote issues around phishing.
- On Thursday, 17 March, our Portuguese member Deco Proteste will have news on the opportunities and risks of cryptocurrencies.
- On Friday 18 March, our Italian member Altroconsumo will focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals in finance.
Tune in and follow all activities from day-to-day on www.euroconsumers.org, Twitter and LinkedIn.
These events will occur within the context of Consumers International’s week-long event starting on 14 March 2022, the Fair Digital Finance Forum. The Forum will spark the first-ever global conversation around consumer-centred solutions in digital financial services, bringing together diverse voices of consumer advocates and key marketplace actors in digital financial services to accelerate change. For more info on World Consumer Rights Day and the theme of Fair Digital Finance, visit the website here.
“The key to technological innovation is consumer trust,” said Ivo Mechels, Executive Director at Euroconsumers. “If innovative technologies in digital banking, lending, and investment are to truly reach their potential, consumers must have confidence in it. They must know their data and their privacy are safe, and that their protection is paramount. Innovation and consumer rights go hand in hand.”
“Digital finance, from standard digital banking to the wild frontier such as cryptocurrencies, pose great opportunities and risks, just like any new technology,” said Els Bruggeman, Head of Policy and Enforcement at Euroconsumers. “The goal of Euroconsumers has always been to embrace innovation, and use it to empower consumers. Innovation in digital finance can give consumers a mastery over their own finances never achieved before. But the consumer must be at the heart of everything.”
Helena Leurent, Director General of Consumers International, said: “The rapidly evolving nature of digital financial services is affecting how we spend and save. There is a great opportunity to create technologies that are safe, inclusive, data protected and private, and sustainable for consumers of digital financial services. To make this a reality for consumers, the global consumer movement will mobilise key decision-makers such as businesses and governments to ensure fair digital finance for all.”