FSS to factor consumer information disclosure into financial firm evaluations

The Financial Supervisory Service plans to incorporate financial firms' consumer information disclosure records into its financial consumer protection assessments.

The FSS announced Tuesday that it had developed the measures at the third meeting of its Financial Consumer Protection Advisory Committee, held June 25, to encourage financial firms to take a more active role in disseminating consumer protection information.

The regulator plans to improve the indicators related to consumer information provision in its financial consumer protection assessments. It is reviewing whether to add evidence examples — such as whether consumer protection information is reflected in product descriptions and records of text message (SMS) delivery — to the evaluation criteria.

The FSS also intends to produce consumer-friendly content — including short-form videos and card news — and post it on Instagram and YouTube, as well as on the individual Instagram and YouTube accounts of financial firms to broaden its reach.

The FSS recently posted content on Instagram titled "A coin whose price surged 1,000 times? It's a scam!" to alert consumers to precautions when trading on decentralized exchanges.

The regulator is also pushing for regulatory reforms to require that consumer alerts and other essential information be explained to customers from the point of product sale. When a consumer alert is issued, the FSS plans to ask financial firms to deliver the relevant content directly to existing customers via SMS and other channels, taking into account the nature and urgency of the alert.

"We hope to proactively prevent financial harm to consumers and strengthen their trust in financial firms," an FSS official said.