Ashley Olson Onyango, Head of Financial Inclusion & AgriTech, GSMA 

Digital technologies are bringing financial services within reach of hundreds of millions of previously unbanked people, but with innovation comes risk. Keeping these new consumers (and their data) safe must be our top priority, and education is an essential piece of the puzzle – through building awareness of the risks associated with digital financial services, and the tools to mitigate them, we can empower people to protect themselves.

Since 2024, the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation has been working in Kenya and Senegal with Visa and local mobile money providers to pilot initiatives aimed at enhancing digital financial literacy. While we’ve learned that there is no silver bullet and no single approach that works everywhere, one insight is clear: localising content, and making contexts familiar to audiences, is essential. That could mean showing faces that reflect the target community, or using names and examples that feel culturally resonant.

It’s also crucial to think through how people prefer to consume content, and how they behave on their phone. For illiterate populations, it’s vital to produce content and messaging in audio options. Another key thing to consider is how people act when engaging with digital financial services – the behavioral journeys they take.

In all of this, central banks and financial regulators have a big role to play. It starts by embracing the opportunity to support and upskill consumers to engage effectively with digital services. Many countries are embedding literacy components into their national financial inclusion strategies, conscious that education is key to keeping digital users safe.

Regulators also play a vital role in shaping the incentives and frameworks that support digital literacy. This can include working with private sector players, as well as key government entities, to embed financial literacy into national strategies and education curriculum, in order to reach future consumers, getting them fit and ready to engage in digital financial systems. Regulators can also encourage digital financial service providers to integrate literacy content directly into their apps and platforms, ensuring consumers receive guidance at the point of use.

The stakes are high, but so is the opportunity – there’s a lot to do, and a role for everyone to play.

Learn more: Advancing Digital Financial Literacy: Insights from Two GSMA Pilots