At the Global Policy Forum (GPF) 2011, AFI members and experts from CGAP and the World Bank gathered to share their ideas and experiences regarding transparency and its part in financial inclusion. The group explored the role that regulators can play in ensuring sufficient transparency for financial inclusion as well as methods to improve disclosure of product costs, terms and clients’ rights and responsibilities.

Takeaways from the experience included the realization that transparency in the financial system means comprehension, comparison, and competition. Additionally, disclosure of product information is not enough if clients do not understand it — ideally, customers should be able to compare products from different institutions. This also leads to increased industry competition.

Additionally, the group concurred that product information should be brief, in plain language, and provided before a transaction is completed. Monitoring and enforcement are needed to ensure that providers comply with disclosure rules, and it can take several attempts to simplify disclosure templates in a way that makes sense for the client.