Published Paper Details:

The rapid expansion of digital financial services (DFS) has transformed the way consumers access, use and manage financial products and services. Digital payments, mobile banking, digital lending, electronic wallets, online investment platforms, Insure Tech and artificial-intelligence-enabled financial services have improved convenience, accessibility and financial inclusion. However, the increasing digitalisation of finance has simultaneously generated new and intensified risks for consumers. These include cyber fraud, phishing, identity theft, data privacy violations, algorithmic bias, inadequate disclosure, digital exclusion, inappropriate products, over-indebtedness and weaknesses in grievance redressal. This study presents a systematic literature review of research on digital financial services and consumer protection, focusing particularly on emerging risks, regulatory responses and future research priorities. The review adopts a PRISMA-oriented approach to identify, screen, assess and synthesise relevant academic and policy literature. The literature indicates that consumer protection in digital finance is increasingly moving beyond traditional concerns of transparency and fair treatment towards issues of data governance, algorithmic accountability, cybersecurity, responsible digital lending and technology-enabled fraud. Recent international evidence also indicates that financial scams and fraud, consumer debt, digital exclusion and opaque algorithmic decision-making are among the major emerging concerns. The review further finds that regulatory frameworks are evolving through enhanced disclosure, responsible lending requirements, data protection, cybersecurity measures, regulatory sandboxes, market-conduct supervision and digital financial literacy initiatives. The study proposes an integrated conceptual framework linking digital financial innovation, emerging consumer risks, regulatory responses and consumer financial well-being. It concludes by identifying future research opportunities relating to artificial intelligence, generative AI-enabled fraud, digital lending, consumer data governance, vulnerable consumers and cross-country regulatory effectiveness.