CFPB Pursues Mobile Financial Services Inquiry

Financial literacy professionals are welcoming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) inquiry into mobile financial services. The data is staggering: nearly 70% of consumers who don’t have bank accounts have smartphones; approximately 60% of U.S. consumers who own a cell phone have smartphones; and nearly 50 million Americans have tablets.

Amid the trends in smartphone use underscored by that data, many financial institutions have been seeing the high potential and expanded access to the financial system to low-income populations as significant business opportunities. As such, the CFPB launched an inquiry into mobile financial services to seek information on the opportunities and challenges associated with mobile financial products and services.

The inquiry focuses on four key areas of interest: (1) access for the underserved, (2) real-time money management, (3) customer service and (4) privacy concerns and data breaches. Financial education professionals are speculating that greater attention to and scrutiny of mobile financial services should bode well for financial literacy, as financial education products are services are widely becoming part of financial inclusion solutions.

More information regarding the CFPB inquiry can be found here