> Posted by Elisabeth Rhyne, Managing Director, CFI
Internet privacy rules have just been overturned in the U.S. by Congress and the Administration, and at the same time, struggles over banking privacy are taking place. There are striking similarities as well as crucial differences. As a consumer protection advocate, I am struck by how the narrative about these kinds of conflicts primarily centers on where competitive advantage lies, and which company or industry is made the winner or loser, rather than about the rights of consumers.
The internet case pits telecoms and cable companies, like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, against internet companies, like Google and Facebook. The Obama-era rules that were just overturned required broadband providers to ask customer permission before tracking, sharing and/or selling their data. These companies complain that the rules disadvantage them relative to internet-based companies, which can collect data without such rules.
The banking case, as reported in The New York Times, pits major banks against fintechs and data aggregators. The question is whether banks will transfer consumer data – at the consumer’s request – to companies that provide personal financial management tools, like Mint, Betterment, and Digit (or to data aggregators that facilitate the transfer – like Plaid and Yodlee). Without this data the financial management apps cannot build the complete portrait of a person’s financial life they need to provide analysis and advice. But banks are reluctant, even after specific consumer requests. You might think this reluctance is to protect their customers or because of data privacy rules for banking, but actually, according to The Times, it’s because the customer data reveals details about banks’ own business models – like pricing and products. The banks fear, probably correctly, that the personal financial management companies will use the information to undercut bank products with their own offerings.
Domestic abuse and violence against women (VAW) are pervasive and shocking. According to the World Bank, 38 percent of murders of women globally are committed through intimate partner violence. Globally, one-third of all women have experienced domestic or intimate partner violence. The World Health Organization even went so far as to call VAW a “global health problem of epidemic proportions.” Could financial services possibly play a role in improving this situation?
Accion is constantly inspired by small business owners we work with in the U.S., who have transformed their lives by starting, sustaining or growing a business. At the same time, we are increasingly aware of the importance of demonstrating through research the value of our investments in small business success (and the investments of government agencies, philanthropic organizations and corporations that make our work possible). In assessing this impact, we are confronted with the challenge of understanding the value of our services in helping entrepreneurs achieve a diversity of business and personal goals. Our research finds that while many small business owners in the U.S. are looking for growth, financial security and family financial health is sometimes just as important. These findings resonate with conclusions from recent research on Latin American small businesses by CFI Fellow Christy Stickney.
The following post was originally published on NextBillion.
All languages have a set of untranslatable words, single terms which capture feelings and experiences that in other languages take many words to convey. (I wonder: is there a word that conveys that in any language?)
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