Fair Finance Asia calls on Asian Banks and Regulators to Protect and Empower Consumers as Partners in Sustainability

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As online scams, coercive debt collection, and lending that outruns what households can repay spread across Asia, consumer protection is failing where it counts: in practice. This is the finding of a new report by the Fair Finance Asia (FFA) network and research partner, Profundo. Empowering Consumers as Partners in Sustainability: Case Studies on Financial Regulation and Implementation calls on regulators and banks to close the gap between regulation and delivery, and to treat consumers as partners in sustainability, not passive customers.

Building on FFA's 2024 consumer empowerment scorecard, the report presents four case studies: over-indebtedness in Cambodia, cybersecurity fraud in Thailand, women entrepreneurs' access to finance in Pakistan, and consumer engagement and accountability in Indonesia. Each case maps how far enforcement delivers on regulation. This report was developed with Fair Finance Cambodia, ResponsiBank Indonesia, Fair Finance Pakistan, and Fair Finance Thailand.

Bernadette Victorio, Program Lead, Fair Finance Asia, said: "Across Asia, consumers are handed rights they cannot use. A complaint line no one answers. A fraud alert you have to know how to switch on. A loan approved without asking whether the household can repay it. These are not gaps in regulation, they are failures of delivery that fall hardest on women entrepreneurs, the elderly, and low-income borrowers. Banks and regulators already have the fix: protections that are automatic, not optional; grievance mechanisms that end in redress, not silence; lending built on what people can repay."

Juliette Laplane, Senior Researcher, Profundo, said: ''Even with consumer protection rules in place, major implementation gaps remain. Across all four cases, the common thread is clear: regulation alone is insufficient; it must be backed by proactive disclosure, accessible grievance mechanisms, meaningful consumer engagement, and robust enforcement to hold financial institutions accountable.''

Over-indebtedness in Cambodia

Although financial consumer protection was the highest-scoring theme in FFA's 2024 scorecard, Cambodian banks scored lowest among the four countries. Borrowers still face inadequate debt burden assessments, inconsistent complaint handling, abusive collection practices, and vulnerable collateral.

Recommendations for banks:

• Comply with the Code of Conduct for banking and financial institutions (BFIs).
• Assess borrowers' ability to repay systematically.
• Restrict collateral practices that compound over-indebtedness.
• Adopt responsible collection guidelines, extend them to third parties, and make complaints handling transparent.

Recommendations for the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC):

• Mandate annual public audits on consumer protection.
• Standardize repayment capacity assessments.
• Cap recovery fees and sanction unethical practices.
• Ban high-risk collateral and back the Financial Consumer and Protection Centre (FCPC).

Sophoan Phean, National Director, Oxfam in Cambodia, said: "While Cambodia has made important progress in developing its financial consumer protection framework, stronger implementation and accountability are needed. Addressing over-indebtedness requires effective grievance mechanisms, responsible lending practices, and stronger accountability."

Consumer Cybersecurity Risk in Thailand

Thai banks scored highest on consumer protection, yet fraud proliferates, exposing the elderly and digitally excluded customers the most. The gaps: weak financial literacy programs, inconsistent coverage of banking agents, optional rather than automatic security alerts, and no interim compensatory relief for victims.

Recommendations for banks:

• Make all security alerts free and automatic.
• Monitor complaint mechanisms transparently.
• Train consumers on cyber threats and sound financial management.

 Recommendations for the Bank of Thailand (BoT):

• Regulate human-facing scam tactics.
• Mandate consumer education for vulnerable groups.

Ponpakin Phruttiwongwanit, Project Coordinator, Fair Finance Thailand, said: "Most of Thailand's protections for bank customers work on the technical side: face scans, app restrictions, and transaction limits. These matter, yet they cannot stop a scam in which the customer is tricked into approving the transfer themselves. Around 700 online scam cases are reported in Thailand every day; most victims never get back the money they lose. Banks and the Bank of Thailand must empower consumers to protect themselves."

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan

The three Pakistani banks assessed scored above average on financial inclusion. They also offer products for unbanked and underbanked customers, but women entrepreneurs are largely unaware of these. Regulation has improved, but weak implementation blunts it.

Recommendations for banks:

• Conduct structured and proactive community outreach through accessible channels tailored to customers with low digital literacy.

Recommendations for the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP):

• Adopt an impact-driven approach to target setting and monitoring.
• Introduce intermediate milestones and a response framework.

Asim Jaffry, Country Program Lead, Fair Finance Pakistan, said: "Financial-inclusion policies and banking products for women entrepreneurs have improved, but awareness of available products remains an immediate barrier. We urge Pakistani banks to undertake proactive, locally accessible, and gender-responsive outreach, while calling on State Bank of Pakistan to strengthen monitoring and evaluate measurable outcomes for women entrepreneurs."

Consumer Engagement and Accountability Mechanisms in Indonesia

Indonesian banks scored lowest of the four countries in consumer engagement and accountability with few channels for raising sustainability concerns. Consumers cannot see what their deposits finance and civil society struggles to hold banks accountable on due diligence.

Recommendations for banks:

• Establish non-judicial and responsive ESG grievance mechanisms.
• Disclose portfolio impacts and engage consumers proactively on sustainability topics.
• Strengthen ESG due diligence.

Recommendations for Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) / Financial Services Authority:

• Broaden mandatory disclosure and require third-party assurance of sustainability reports.
• Require client consent to disclosure in high-risk lending.
• Champion a mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence law covering finance.
• Penalize misleading sustainability claims; train judiciary and regulators.

Victoria Fanggidae, Executive Director, The PRAKARSA, said: "Most Indonesian banks still lack any real grievance channel for harms linked to their financing. We urge Indonesian banks to establish accessible, transparent ESG grievance mechanisms and disclose the projects they finance. We call on OJK to mandate independent assurance of sustainability reporting and enforce real consequences when a bank's lending practices contradict its published ESG commitments."

Access the case studies and recommendations: bit.ly/4ql4HVK

Media contacts:  

Kyle Cruz
Influencing and Campaigning Manager
Fair Finance Asia
[email protected]

About Fair Finance Asia

FFA is a regional network of Asian civil society organizations working to ensure that financial institutions' funding decisions respect the social and environmental well-being of the communities where they operate. Civil society coalitions from 10 countries are part of the FFA network: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Learn more: fairfinanceasia.org

SOURCE Fair Finance Asia