WHY IT MATTERS
By 2025, emerging markets' GDP could increase by
$3.7 trillion and create 95 million jobs across all sectors.
Funding for financial inclusion recently reached a historic high of $37 billion,
another $31 billion total are invested in fintechs globally each year.
We see evolving opportunities and risks in digital innovation for inclusive growth
Towards 2030 and Beyond
As Signatories, our goal is to accelerate investments that create value-added benefits for digital finance customers and broader digital ecosystems. We strive to catalyze investments in responsible digital innovation. We collaborate with industry and technology leaders as partners to fine-tune evolving solutions, emerging evidence and business models for inclusive growth.
Catalyze investments for digital inclusion and sustainability
Manage new risks and opportunities with digital trends
Growth through customer loyalty and digital resiliency
WHAT WE DO
We are shaping evolving insights, due diligence tools and operational practices. We share experiences through case examples from investors and industry in digital inclusion. We give collective feedback, building from our own investment experience and new business innovations to implement the Guidelines.
We are reaching out to our investee networks, technology and strategic partners to join us and fortify our Signatory base to scale responsible investing and innovation for digital inclusion.
We are implementing and testing practical steps through 10 guideposts and actions proposed, as relevant to our investments or evolving business models and industry practices.
We as private sector investors and signatories co-led the development of the Investor Guidelines, we seek ongoing feedback and share our experiences through Investor Forums and our networks.
We anchored the Guidelines to the G20 High Level Principles because it is the first and most comprehensive principles for digital finance, endorsed in 2016 with China as holder of the G20 Presidency.
We began as a core group at the Responsible Finance Forum in Berlin in 2017, grew to over 50 Co-founding Signatories in 2018 in Amsterdam and today there are over 120 Signatories representing investors and innovators for digital inclusion.
What Is Next

Investor News | For Action
-WHAT'S NEW: Congratulations to Responsible Digital Innovator of the Year Award winners, announced on October 7, 2019 during the Global SME Finance Forum 2019 in Amsterdam.Candidates were selected based on criteria underpinned by the Guidelines for Responsible Investing in Digital Financial Services. F-Road received the Platinum Award and JUMO received the Gold Award--both are co-founding Signatories and are actively implementing the Guidelines in their operations.Thank you also to those who took the time to serve as judges, with representatives from: Accion, Apis Partners, CDC, CIM, DEG, Goodwell, GSMA, IFC, and Triple Jump.
- FOR ACTION: Share investor and signatory tools; give feedback to operationalize the Investor Guidelines: what works, what doesn't for digital finance investments:
- DEG developed a draft briefing note for investors who are assessing fair and transparent pricing as part of their investment in fintechs. Here is the Draft Briefing Note and send us feedback.
- IFC developed a draft due diligence tool for investors who are incorporating customer risks into their broader investment due diligence process across core operational areas. Here is the Draft Due Diligence Tool, along with the Risk Matrix and send us your feedback.
HOW WE INVEST
We as Signatories promote the Investor Guidelines and proactive innovators for responsible digital finance
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1 Promote Responsible Investment in Digital Finance
We embrace digital financial services (DFS) as a priority to drive development of inclusive financial systems. We will actively support responsible DFS providers to innovate and expand the range of financial services available to underserved groups to help them reduce their vulnerability, build assets, and mitigate their risks for an inclusive digital economy. We as investors commit to make responsible investment choices. We commit to supporting improved board governance and management commitment such that access to finance generates resilient, sustainable and value added growth towards creating markets and opportunities for broader sustainable development.
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1. Promote Responsible Investment in Digital Finance
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2 Manage Risks Comprehensively with Growth of Digital Inclusion
We acknowledge that investors play a role in ensuring that the risks that emerge from innovation are borne by those that are equipped to absorb them, i.e., not by end customers. Investors will identify and assess risks during their due diligence process and manage these during the course of investment. We encourage our investees to incorporate risks for customers or consumers into their business models and operations for a more comprehensive risk management framework.
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2. Manage Risks Comprehensively with Growth of Digital Inclusion
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3 Foster a Proportionate Legal and Regulatory Framework
We support a prudent and proportionate legal and regulatory framework. As responsible investors, we commit to ensure compliance to existing regulations (including, by our investee companies) and to engage productively with policymakers so that the regulatory framework reflects both customer protection concerns and commercial concerns, and financial crime risk.
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3. Foster a Proportionate Legal and Regulatory Framework
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4 Facilitate Interoperability and Infrastructures for DFS Ecosystems
We recognize the need for an ecosystem of enabling infrastructure for DFS and encourage interoperability, where appropriate, within that ecosystem. We encourage investee companies to take responsibility for the actions of agents, employees, and third-party service providers across the value chain. We will support investees to implement appropriate mechanisms for responsible provision of services along the value chain, and encourage investees that provide infrastructure services to providers of DFS to apply these Guidelines along the chain.
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4. Facilitate Interoperability and Infrastructures for DFS Ecosystems
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5 Establish Customer Identity, Data Privacy and Security Standard
We encourage the development, use and implementation, as relevant to market standards and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, of customer identity and authentication systems by DFS providers. We promote the responsible use of data and practice of data management, including back-end technology infrastructure and/or other mechanisms to protect the privacy and security of customer data and help strengthen approaches for informed customer consent. We encourage the assessment of risk to both customers and providers in adopting various approaches and technologies.
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5. Establish Customer Identity, Data Privacy and Security Standard
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6 Promote Fair and Transparent Pricing
We encourage and support investees to apply fair, risk-based and transparent pricing for all financial products and services that is affordable to consumers while allowing for investees to be sustainable and provide balanced returns to investors. We strive to reassess and balance fair prices paid by customers and the return generated for investors/investees, based on a broader assessment of the risks impacting the DFS ecosystem, which includes: customers, providers and financial markets sector. For savings products, investors encourage and support investees to provide real returns on the deposits of customers.
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6. Promote Fair and Transparent Pricing
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7 Improve Disclosure of Terms and Conditions for Customers
We will promote and support investees to improve disclosure of terms, conditions and pertinent information to customers through transparent, timely and clear communication that is easily faccessible. This includes appropriate product design and delivery as well as transparent disclosure of pricing by product or transaction (annualized/monthly terms), customer rights and obligations, and key supporting facts that enables customers to make informed decisions.
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7. Improve Disclosure of Terms and Conditions for Customers
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8 Enhance Customer Services For Problem Resolution and Product Innovation
We will encourage and support investees to enhance customer services for feedback, effective problem or complaints resolution in a timely and responsive manner (including redress mechanisms) to build and sustain customer trust and improve the design and delivery of products and services.
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8. Enhance Customer Services For Problem Resolution and Product Innovation
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9 Prevent Over-Indebtedness, Strengthen Digital Literacy and Financial Awareness
We promote and support proactive, ongoing approaches that deliver innovative digital literacy & financial literacy and awareness initiatives for consumer protection, to help prevent over indebtedness and support financial capability, and informed decision-making throughout the customer relationship.
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9. Prevent Over-Indebtedness, Strengthen Digital Literacy and Financial Awareness
How to Become a Signatory
Our Signatories Represent 120+ Investors and Endorsers
Investors include active direct investors, indirect investors, asset owners
Endorsers include fintech innovators, digital finance providers, operators