Consumer Protection

A core goal of financial regulation is to protect consumers. Accelerating innovation at both incumbent and fintech firms can help solve people’s financial problems, but also creates new risks.

On the positive side, new technologies can make financial services almost universally accessible, more affordable, and more understandable. It can help people qualify for well-priced loans by leveraging new kinds of data and powerful AI tools like machine-learning. It can reduce the need for high-cost services like overdrafts, payday loans and check-cashing. New apps can help people save, invest, pay bills and manage money. ‘Digital identity’ innovation can safely open the financial system to consumers who lack traditional documents. Worldwide, mobile banking has brought hundreds of millions of people into the financial system for the first time. Digital regtech tools, meanwhile, can equip regulators and risk managers to detect and instantly correct practices like credit discrimination and deceptive products.

If not well managed and regulated, however, new technology can threaten privacy and data security, exacerbate bias, and foster predatory products and scams.

AIR works with consumer advocates, agencies and industry to promote innovation that advances strong consumer financial protection.