EFFECTIVE RECOURSE

Financial consumers have the right to expect that their financial transactions, as well as relevant personal information disclosed in the course of a transaction, are kept confidential. BSFIs must ensure that they have well-articulated information security guidelines, well-defined protocols, a secure database, and periodically re-validated procedures in handling the personal information of their financial consumers. This should be an end-to-end process that should cover, among others, the array of information that will be preidentified and collected, the purpose of gathering each information, how these will be sourced from the client, the IT-security infrastructure of the BSFI, and the protocols for disclosure, both within the BSFI and especially to third parties. financial consumers are treated fairly, honestly, professionally and are not sold inappropriate and harmful financial products and services. BSFIs should ensure that they have the necessary resources and procedures in place, internal monitoring, and control mechanisms, for safeguarding the best interest of their customers. These include general rules, such as those addressing ethical staff behavior, acceptable selling practices as well as regulating products and practices where customers are more likely to be offered services that are inappropriate for their circumstances.

Financial consumers should be provided with accessible, affordable, independent, fair, accountable, timely, and efficient means for resolving complaints with their financial transactions. BSFIs should have in place mechanisms for complaint handling and redress.

FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND AWARENESS Financial education initiatives give consumers the knowledge, skills, and confidence to understand and evaluate the information they receive and empower them to make informed financial decisions. Because BSFIs deal directly with financial consumers, they have the reach, expertise, and established relationships necessary to deliver financial education.

The BSP has supported proposed legislation to ensure that a similar strong financial consumer protection framework is in place for all financial services. Current laws on consumer protection are limited to only credit. The proposed legislation will cover all financial products and services and also take into consideration the increasingly digital nature of financial services.