Providers of digital financial services are being implored to create products that are inclusive and accessible to all Jamaicans, while ensuring that the most vulnerable are protected, including the elderly.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr. the Hon. Norman Dunn, made the call while addressing Tuesday’s (March 15) World Consumer Rights Day online forum under the theme ‘Fair Digital Finance’.
Digital finance is the delivery of traditional financial services through devices such as computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Dr. Dunn said that digital finance enables the unbanked and low-income earners to move into the financial space, with increasing options for receiving salaries, paying bills, transferring money, and engaging in various transactions.
He argued that this access by the financially disengaged will drive competition and facilitate the development of consumer-centred benefits, including lower product and service costs, and low fees or no fees.
“However, as much as we are making strides in the digital financial space, there are many who are at risk of being left behind, or of falling prey to unfair and illegal practices, and so we are obligated to educate, inform, and empower our population, including our
280,000 senior citizens, who are not very tech savvy.
“We must take steps to ensure that they, and others who are vulnerable, are included in the digital financial space,” he said.
World Consumer Rights Day is observed on March 15 annually. The day aims to raise global awareness of consumer rights, consumer protection and empowerment.
