Campaign Highlights and Updates...
> The Smart Campaign launches! Listen to the teleconference recording here.
> Updated information in the Bosnia and Herzegovina profile in the Consumer Protection Library. > Endorse The Smart Campaign
About The Smart Campaign... Financial services have the power to help people improve their lives, sometimes dramatically so. However, if offered carelessly or used improperly, financial services – especially credit – can also cause harm.
The Smart Campaign seeks to unite microfinance providers worldwide to develop and implement standards for the appropriate treatment of low-income clients based on six principles. The overall objective of the Campaign is for these principles to become embedded within the fabric of the microfinance community and for microfinance to be recognized as a strongly pro-consumer industry. Over the last year, a consensus has emerged around six principles that would comprise the industry’s commitment to client protection: 1. Avoidance of over-indebtedness
2. Transparent pricing
3. Appropriate collections practices
4. Ethical staff behavior
5. Mechanisms for redress of grievances
6. Privacy of client data Beyond fostering adherence to these common principles, the Campaign will develop a toolkit to help microfinance institutions incorporate the principles into their operations. It will also work towards certification standards that set apart those institutions which have fully implemented pro-consumer practices. The size of the mission is enormous, and collaboration is essential to the Campaign’s success. To learn more about The Smart Campaign, click here > |