Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), comprising digital identity, payments, and data-sharing systems, was conceptualized as the foundational “digital rails” to drive financial inclusion, foster competition and innovation, and create trusted environments for the growth of digital financial services, ultimately contributing to economic development. The pace of adoption of services delivered on these rails often outstrips evidence on long-term impacts (competition, consumer trust, sustainability), which can create long term challenges.
While significant progress has been made in expanding inclusion, balancing the inclusion goal with other objectives of innovation, competition, and long-term sustainability continues to be challenging. Prioritizing one objective over the others as a strategic policy decision can shape market incentives in different ways, influencing how DPI-enabled services evolve. This session will explore these inherent tensions, with a focus on ensuring that consumers remain protected and continue to benefit from affordable access, safe transaction environments, and a fair choice of service providers, ensuring trust in the system is not eroded.
This interactive workshop builds on work done by the global DPI Insights Community, which is convened by the Center for Financial Inclusion and presents evidence of policy choices and the implications, from a number of countries that have adopted DPI. Several countries that are beginning to launch their instant, interoperable payment systems are grappling with the challenge of understanding fee structures that can encourage inclusion, competition and innovation and be financially sustainable in the long run. There is a growing concern that not addressing the long term sustainability question can especially be challenging to jurisdictions that are expected to provide concessions without the commensurate ability to bear the costs over the long run. This, in turn, can affect consumer experience, security and protection. There is a crucial role for all stakeholders to consider various options, work with policymakers to make informed choices, and identify pathways to navigate these tensions. The Insights Forum, with its confluence of public and private sector practitioners and policymakers offers the ideal platform for such an interactive workshop.
Insights Forum
Design Thinking Room
