Together with Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores de México (CNBV), the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) will be hosting the 15th Consumer Empowerment & Market Conduct (CEMC) Working Group and 17th Financial Data Inclusion (FID) Working Group meetings from 5-8 March, 2018 in Mérida, Mexico — the first in a series of three working group meetings to be held in the first half of 2018.

The event is expected to bring more than 100 participants from FIDWG and CEMC member countries combined, along with key external stakeholders and partners from around the globe.

The first day of this event will see members of both the working groups converge to discuss common priority issues, identify complementary activities and discuss possible collaborative knowledge product publications. Both FIDWG and CEMC members will then gather in their respective working groups to discuss cross-cutting policy topics with implications across every financial inclusion policy area. The agenda for the 4-day event includes trends in financial consumer protection policy and regulation, and various data challenges related to gender, national strategies, and digital financial services.

Working groups are the key source of policy developments and trends in financial inclusion and serve as “communities of practice” on key financial inclusion issues. The groups conduct surveys of their members to share knowledge; held peer reviews to facilitate practical feedback on members’ policies, regulations and strategies; published guideline notes identifying best practices in their areas of expertise; and, contributed to policy reforms across the network by supporting members in implementing their commitments to the Maya Declaration.

About CEMC

The CEMC Working Group is a platform for policymakers to discuss policy and regulatory issues related to their consumer empowerment initiatives and market conduct regulations. The primary objective of the working group is to develop and share a common understanding of lessons learned and cost-effective policy tools, and to promote their adoption at national level as well as in a broader international context.

About FIDWG

The Financial Inclusion Data (FID) Working Group leads discussions and knowledge-sharing activities on the measurement of financial inclusion including data issues, methodologies and global standards and principles. The group leverages lessons from AFI members and practitioners around the world with the aim to develop a common framework for measuring financial inclusion.