Tag: Product design

The paper starts by revisiting existing literature on the financial lives of LIHs that shows that they manage their finances in a rather sophisticated manner. This can be traced to the radical uncertainty they face, which includes a “triple whammy” of income problems and expenditure shocks that are frequent and unique to their circumstances.

In an increasingly digitized world, Digital Financial Services (DFS) have emerged as a key tool for transacting, borrowing, saving, and investing. Policymakers and Financial Service Providers (FSPs) are keen to leverage DFS to advance financial inclusion, particularly for women from Low-Income Households (LIHs).

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) products have become one of the popular modes for customers to finance their retail purchases. BNPL products are being postured as challengers to credit cards that can make credit more accessible to customers at little to no cost.

he increasingly-pervasive use of personal data in the provision of financial services can enable providers to offer suitable financial products, at a scale. Internationally, suitability or appropriateness in finance is conceptualised as “the degree to which the product or service offered by the intermediary matches the retail client’s financial situation, investment objectives, level of risk tolerance, financial need, knowledge and experience”

Primer on Suitability for Consumer Data Use and Product Design – 4th Dvara Research Conference

Our earlier post covered the second approach to consumer protection that was discussed in the IFMR Financial Systems Design Conference 2012. This post carries details of the third session that discussed a framework for consumer protection based on the principle of ‘Suitability’.

The Micro-insurance sector has been often in the news in the recent times. This is primarily because of IRDA’s recent recommendation towards an “everything product” approach for which the Life Insurance Council has been asked to prepare a blue-print.

A common refrain that one hears in the context of financial services for low-income households is the importance of “keeping it simple”.

Ever signed up for the gym but failed to go regularly? You are not alone. There are numerous occasions where we take a decision that is not always ‘optimal’.

Third in the series of articles in The Hindu Business Line, Puneet Gupta and Jayshree Venkatesan of IFMR Mezzanine  Finance write about some of the barriers to accessing finance.