Service for Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion

Financial consumer protection, the improvement of the quality and accessibility of financial services (including for small and medium-sized enterprises), and the promotion of individuals’ financial literacy are essential conditions for the proper functioning of the financial market.

The Service for Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion of the Bank of Russia considers financial service consumers’ complaints about the actions of:

• credit institutions;
• insurance market participants;
• microfinance market participants;
• collective investment market participants;
• professional securities market participants;
• exchanges;
• financial market self-regulatory organisations of the above non-bank financial institutions;
• joint-stock companies;
• limited liability companies (as regards the avoidance of the convocation of a company’s general meeting of shareholders and the violation of the requirements of laws for the procedure for convening, preparing and holding such meetings, as well as failure to submit or the delayed submission of court rulings on a dispute related to the establishment of the legal entity, its management, or equity interest therein).

In 2018, the Bank of Russia’s Board of Directors approved the Financial Inclusion Strategy for Russia in 2018–2020. In its efforts aimed at enhancing financial inclusion, the Service pays due attention to market participants’ opinion and puts a particular focus on the financial inclusion of individuals with limited access to financial services, including disabled, elderly and physically challenged people and residents of villages and other small localities in remote, sparsely populated and hard-to-reach areas. To achieve this objective, remote and digital financial service channels are developed, among other things.

It is critical to promote Russians’ financial literacy in order to help consumers adequately comprehend the essence of the service used, distinguish between bona fide participants in the financial market and fraudsters, and be capable of making the best choice.

The Service coordinates the introduction of financial literacy fundamentals into the educational process of all levels (from preschool to higher and additional education), arranges awareness-building events on financial literacy for various target audiences, including disabled and elderly people, small and medium-sized enterprises, and servicemen. Moreover, the Service promotes the development of the volunteer movement and supports the implementation of efficient private and public initiatives aimed at raising financial literacy. In 2017, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Bank of Russia approved the Strategy for the Improvement of Financial Literacy in the Russian Federation in 2017–2023.

The Bank of Russia maintains communication with financial service consumers through means that are convenient to them, including via digital channels. In January 2019, the Bank of Russia’s Single Communication Centre began operating round-the-clock.