Protecting and empowering consumers to advance their financial well-being
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Date
2026-04-22
Authors
Ryan, Marie
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Published Version
Abstract
Retail financial services markets offer consumers a wide range of choices and benefits, although they also involve risks which can lead to consumer detriment. For this reason, protecting and empowering consumers of financial products and services are core policy areas and functions of financial policymakers and regulators around the world. In this respect, the concept of financial well-being has emerged nationally and internationally as a policy objective, reflecting growing awareness about the importance of focussing on outcomes for consumers as they make financial decisions and interact with the financial system. Building on the G20 Policy Note on Financial Well-being (OECD, 2024[1]), this paper focusses on the role of financial consumer protection and financial literacy/education in advancing financial well-being, in line with the relevant international standards, that is the G20/OECD High-Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection (OECD, 2022[2]) and the OECD Recommendation on Financial Literacy (OECD, 2020[3]), and considering that financial well-being is one aspect of overall individual well-being. In addition to the roles of financial consumer protection and financial literacy/education policies, the paper notes that financial well-being depends on a wide range of individual, household, community and societal factors, as well as broader policy frameworks, including macroeconomic and social policies. The paper recognises the role of financial inclusion in advancing financial well-being, noting that its connection with financial well-being has been examined in other research. In exploring how financial consumer protection and financial literacy/education can advance financial wellbeing, the paper refers to the four elements of the working definition of financial well-being set out in the G20 Policy Note on Financial Well-being, keeping in mind that a comprehensive and effective financial consumer protection framework supports all dimensions of financial well-being, whether directly or indirectly
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Keywords
Consumers , Financial well-being , [Business] , [CUBS]
Citation
Ryan, M 2026, 'Protecting and empowering consumers to advance their financial well-being', OECD Business and Finance Policy Papers, vol. 102. < https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/protecting-and-empowering-consumers-to-advance-their-financial-well-being_e02f9112-en.html >
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Copyright
© 2026, OECD. This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)