Problem Statements
This TechSprint will be centred around three main problem statements to explore:
Problem Statement 1:
What technological solutions can help to increase the probability of consumers being accepted when they apply for everyday financial services, such as basic bank accounts, credit or insurance products?
We would like to see solutions factoring in:
- Evidence of the reasons consumers are currently excluded from the particular market.
- Identification of consumers with characteristics of vulnerability or who are from groups known to be at higher risk of application rejection in different markets.
- Consideration of how technology can help firms and consumers with innovative ways of fulfilling due diligence requirements such as proof of identification or address, particularly in the context of applications for basic bank accounts and payment services, as these are the “entry level” inclusion products.
- How to use a wider range of sources of data for decision-making by firms but not use irrelevant data within those sources, and broader considerations for misuse of data showing behavioural biases and vulnerabilities?
- How firms can comply with relevant regulations such as the Know Your Customer rules, at the application stage in the most flexible ways which increase inclusion (eg the HSBC work on bank accounts for homeless people)?
- How technology can assist in making financial products accessible to people without exacerbating known issues and challenges such as those faced by consumers with disabilities, mental health issues who are neurodiverse?
- How consumers can be empowered to understand and improve their chances of having their applications for financial products and services accepted?
Problem Statement 2:
What technological solutions can help to deliver positive outcomes for consumers when a firm declines their application for a product, or when at a subsequent point in the consumer journey they become excluded because the product is no longer suitable for their needs?
We would like to see solutions factoring in:
- Consideration of the extent to which the tech solutions are going over and above regulatory expectations and to what extent are they enabling firms to deliver regulatory expectations more effectively.
- Opportunities to use data to establish appropriate alternative products and services, or routes to them, where the consumer would have a good chance of having any application accepted, particularly for example, for a basic bank account.
- Potential dynamic solutions which allow consumers to continue to be aware of their eligibility for product use (eg making a claim on a policy) in cases where this may change over time, due to changing consumer circumstances.
- The need for clear, understandable communication of results and, where possible, the reasons for those results, to consumers.
- How nudges and ‘positive friction’ can be built into the consumer journey to help prevent exclusion or poor decisions by consumers following an application decline?
- How technological solutions can enable enhanced peer support in helping consumers navigate financial challenges after an application decline?
- How consumers can best be equipped with additional capabilities and financial education to make better decisions?
- The potential for new products or services, where exclusion is being driven by the absence of suitable offerings in the market.
- The need for firms to be able to monitor consistently their rates of decline, and their need to understand the reasons why.
Problem Statement 3:
How can technology, including AI, be deployed to ensure that firms deliver good outcomes across the board to groups of consumers who have been excluded or not well-served in the past, particularly in retail banking, payments, credit and insurance?
We would like to see solutions factoring in:
- How can technology, including AI, be deployed to ensure that firms deliver good outcomes across the board to different groups of consumers, particularly in retail banking, payments, consumer finance and insurance?
- We would like to see solutions factoring in:
- How AI or other technology can be used to help prevent discrimination on the basis of different characteristics such as age, ethnicity, gender or other characteristic, or on the basis of postcode or other proxies for different characteristics, where this is not justified by the level of risk?
- How firms can better use existing technology that uses open finance or other data to prevent discrimination and deliver good outcomes across the board, in ways which use consumers’ data ethically?
- How solutions take into account whether those on lower incomes are paying a “poverty premium” based on how they choose to pay for the service or where they live, where such extra costs are not justified by the level of risk?
- How solutions help to ensure that the criteria for rejecting, for example, an application for a basic bank account, are not being applied too broadly to groups of consumers who share particular characteristics, such as type of employment or refugee status?
For all problem statements, solutions should emphasise the importance of designing with a consumer-centric approach, ensuring that they are easy to use and understand for a diverse range of consumers.
The principles of inclusivity, transparency, and ethical use of data should be at the core of all the solutions.
We encourage participants to take a broader, flexible approach to the problem statements and to be as innovative as possible. It is also important that solutions factor in capability concerns and digital exclusion in their considerations.
The primary condition is that the consumer should be placed at the heart of the solutions.
Teams will be allocated to one problem statement to focus on throughout the TechSprint, however we do encourage participants to take a broader, flexible approach to solution development and to be as innovative as possible.
You can indicate a preference of problem statement in your registration form, which we will then take into consideration when reviewing and building out the teams.