Share Your Thoughts: What Are “Responsible” Digital Payments?

At the Better Than Cash Alliance, we are starting to think about what “responsible” digital payments mean for our members and stakeholders and want to ask your opinion.

Many organizations are leading discussions about responsible practices, ranging from the G20 High Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection, to the Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance (PIIF) which provide a framework for responsible investment in inclusive finance, to The Aspen Institute’s Better Banking Project which aims to identify and promote best practices in the financial services industry, and even the MBA Oath, which aims to encourage ethical business leadership.

One place we could start our discussion about responsible digital payments is with the “Client Protection Principles (CPPs)” of the Smart Campaign which includes some initial guidance for payments services. These include:

• Transparency
• Responsible pricing
• Fair and respectful treatment of clients
• Privacy of client data
• Mechanisms for complaint resolution

Please share your thoughts about the Smart Campaign’s CPPs in the comments section below.

Are these the right areas for us to explore more responsible practices? Are there other efforts you think frame the discussion more effectively? What additional guidance is needed to ensure that these are relevant to payments?

We welcome your suggestions, insights and experiences, and look forward to discussing them with you.