UN Principles for Responsible Digital Payments

1

Treat users fairly

Making payments responsibly is about much more than consumer protection. For digital payments to improve on cash, fair treatment of users is essential. Fairness is the foundation on which responsibility is built, ensuring that no abuse of power takes place.

Here, members can now learn about the business case for fairness, strategies to create it, emergent risks such as algorithm biases in artificial intelligence (AI), and how the definition of fairness evolves in lockstep with payment innovation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

All members can define fair treatment in their strategies to help guide their partnerships to deliver outstanding digital payments experiences for users.

Governments, companies and international development organizations have an opportunity to leverage partnership agreements with digital payment providers to include commitment to Principles 1–9 and ensure fair treatment of the next billion users.

Lead national, regional and global collaboration to regulate AI for digital payments responsibly and in a way that considers power asymmetries and privileges vulnerable populations.

PDF More recommendations on how to treat users fairly

IN PRACTICE

Vietnam Consumer Protection Directive legislated responsibility for consumer protection at all levels of government and improved complaints mechanisms, legal regimes and public awareness.

VISA AI-enabled fraud detection: An AI-based authorization platform assesses each transaction’s likelihood of being fraudulent, speeding up detection.

Ghana’s Payments Systems and Services Act requires providers to disclose the benefits, risks and terms of their offering, inform users of their rights and ensure responsible conduct from all staff and agents.

Canadian government mandated that automated decision-making must maintain “transparency, legality, accountability and procedural fairness”.