G20 High Level Principles for Digital Financial InclusionT

he G20 stands at an unprecedented time when our leadership has the potential to drive the growth of inclusive
economies by promoting digital financial services. Two billion adults globally do not have access to formal
financial services and are excluded from opportunities to improve their lives. While tremendous gains infinancial inclusion have already been achieved, digital financial services, together with effective supervision (which
may be digitally enabled), are essential to close the remaining gaps in financial inclusion.
Digital technologies offer affordable ways for the financially excluded—the majority of whom are women—
to save for school, make a payment, get a small business loan, send a remittance, or buy insurance. The 2010 G20
Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion spurred initial efforts and policy actions. These 2016 High Level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion build on that success by providing a basis for country action plans reflecting
country context and national circumstances to leverage the huge potential offered by digital technologies.

PRINCIPLE 1: Promote a Digital Approach
to Financial Inclusion

PRINCIPLE 5: Establish Responsible Digital
Financial Practices to Protect Consumers

Promote digital financial services as a priority to drive
development of inclusive financial systems, including
through coordinated, monitored, and evaluated national
strategies and action plans.

Establish a comprehensive approach to consumer anddata protection that focuses on issues of specific relevanceto digital financial services.

PRINCIPLE 2: Balance Innovation and Risk toAchieve Digital Financial Inclusion
Balance promoting innovation to achieve digital financial
inclusion with identifying, assessing, monitoring andmanaging new risks.
PRINCIPLE 3: Provide an Enabling andProportionate Legal and Regulatory
Framework for Digital Financial Inclusion

PRINCIPLE 6: Strengthen Digital and
Financial Literacy and AwarenessSupport and evaluate programs that enhance digital andfinancial literacy in light of the unique characteristics,advantages, and risks of digital financial services andchannels.
PRINCIPLE 7: Facilitate Customer Identification
for Digital Financial Services

Provide an enabling and proportionate legal and regulatory
framework for digital financial inclusion, taking into
account relevant G20 and international standard setting
body standards and guidance.

Facilitate access to digital financial services by developing, orencouraging the development of, customer identity systems,
products and services that are accessible, affordable, andverifiable and accommodate multiple needs and risk levels
for a risk-based approach to customer due diligence.

PRINCIPLE 4: Expand the Digital Financial
Services Infrastructure Ecosystem

Progress

Expand the digital financial services ecosystem—including
financial and information and communications technology
infrastructure—for the safe, reliable and low-cost provisionof digital financial services to all relevant geographicalareas, especially underserved rural areas.

PRINCIPLE 8: Track Digital Financial Inclusion
Track progress on digital financial inclusion through acomprehensive and robust data measurement and evaluation system. This system should leverage new sources ofdigital data and enable stakeholders to analyze and monitor
the supply of—and demand for—digital financial services,
as well as assess the impact of key programs and reforms.

These eight principles are based on the rich experience reflected in G20 and international standard-setting bodies’
standards and guidance. They also recognize the need to support innovation while managing risk and encouraging
development of digital financial products and services.