Financial education as a strategy to strengthen the protection of financial users in digital environments

Abstract

In the context of the covid-19 pandemic, there was an acceleration in the use of digital financial services. This gave a glimpse of the associated risks and the important role played by financial supervisors and regulators (in its broad sense encompassing the financial and payment system) in the protection of the user. This paper analyzes the risk prevention measures adopted by the Uruguayan supervisor and examines the behavior of the digital financial user in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic associated with the use of electronic instruments. For the research, the databases published by the Central Bank of Uruguay referring to the evolution of operations with electronic financial instruments and the complaints of financial users were considered. It is concluded that although the actions adopted by the financial supervisor to mitigate the risks associated with the use of digital financial instruments were effective, they must be continuously reviewed due to the dynamic and changing environment and must be adapted according to the new needs of the environment; addressing the situation from different angles, considering education and information on financial digitalization as a fundamental pillar for risk prevention.