20 years ago, the mobile phone was an expensive luxury, reserved for millionaires. In the last decade, the phone has become a tool that has transformed what we think is possible. Consider that in 2007 the largest mobile money network in the world, Kenya’s M-Pesa was launched, the same year as the first iPhone. The scope of this disruption is raising expectations and at times feels like a security blanket that we now can’t imagine living without. To the extent that today in 2017 we consider the growth of mobile money and other digital finance solutions the most effective driver of increasing access to financial services.

Regulators and policymakers have had to quickly adapt to this new reality and we assume many lessons have been learned. 10 years from now in 2028, what impact do we expect digital technologies to have on individual financial health and market stability? What should we expect from policymakers and regulators, who bear the burden of ensuring that we reach that future efficiently and safely?

While these may be interesting questions about the role of government and importance of legal clarity, we’re not going to immediately talk about what future policies will look like. Rather we will start with a focus on how we think policy and regulation will impact two key dimensions: the customer experience and the ease of doing business.

So, let’s start off with the customer experience.

Imagine yourself in a rural or semi-urban environment. Perhaps in Tanzania, or Mexico, or the Philippines. Your home is partly powered by solar panels for simple things like charging digital devices and indoor lighting. Your kids go to school and use tablets, they are online while at school and sometimes at home to do homework. The local telecom network is fairly strong, enough to allow you to use your own phone to access a broad range of information: weather, transportation updates, market prices, etc. In fact, the bandwidth is strong enough that a local doctor consults patients who have minor health issues or questions using video calls. And finally, you haven’t been late to work in months because you receive an automatic notification when the bus is 30 min away from the bus stop nearest your home.

None of these facts are revolutionary by today's standard. Absolutely unremarkable in fact. But it would be remarkable if the experience was easily accessible by people who are vulnerable to emergencies and shocks. Access to these types of services can often prevent people from sliding back into poverty.

So where are the financial innovations in this future we've described?

They are there. In each of those experiences. The loan for the solar panel. The payments for school fees that include a refundable deposit for the tablets. The pay-as-you-use information services on the mobile device. And the health insurance services that include on-demand access to a local doctor when you pay your premiums on time. And, of course convenient means of payment for these services as well as your day-to-day expenses.

In fact, these financial services are practically invisible to the user. They only require an occasional process to set up payments, apply for a loan, file an insurance claim, all done digitally. The experience is robust, easy and safe. So people trust it.

Now let's look at this environment from a different perspective. A ‘doing business’ perspective.

In this case, imagine that you’re head of product for a technology company or a financial institution. Or perhaps you’re a budding entrepreneur. And you see an opportunity to improve how financial services are used and delivered. For example, people would benefit from having more control over their data. Or perhaps a single interface to pay multiple services like transport, electricity, or school fees. Or provide access to short-term investment instruments that provide better returns than simple savings.

You’re confident of the market opportunity because you've seen the data. The National Statistics Bureau has been publishing financial service and infrastructure data. The data shows trends in usage of financial service, penetration rates, and relevant demographic data. Also, several industry associations now publish regular updates of their discussions with regulators on new and emerging regulations and policy-related business constraints. Which is important because your idea is new and without clear precedent. In fact you might need permission before launching your product.

Fortunately, the government has created publicly available guidance on determining whether your idea would require a license, and from which respective authority. If regulation is required, the regulators also indicate what data is required to report in the earliest stages of operations.

You can see where we are going with this part of the story. This environment we’ve envisioned is optimized for new ideas. Broad market information is available to the industry, is frequently updated, and high quality. And there is regular dialogue between industry and regulators, which also helps to make the conditions for market entry and licensing clear. In other words, the ecosystem makes doing business easy.

So, what do these two stories tell us about the future of digital finance regulation?

Well, for digital and mobile-enabled services to meet their true potential, we want regulators to focus their policy and regulation on these two simple outcomes: enabling services that are robust, easy, and safe to use, and improving the ease of doing business.

And from these stories we can see the thread of some very specific activities that are well within the control of financial service regulators and policymakers. So, 10 years from now, what can we expect?

• We expect to see regulators focus more on real outcomes for the customers, especially to empower them to manage their personal data. And that rules for electronic payments are optimized to enable a wide range of services, including insurance and credit.
• We expect the government to provide better market data so investment decisions can be made confidently. And that regulators themselves adopt a culture of data that influences decisions and enables enhanced supervision for new ideas (the sandbox approach).
• We expect that regulators consult with the industry on a regular basis to understand constraints and co-create solutions. And that they continue to learn from global peers and markets that continue to innovate.
• We expect regulators to also work with each other to coalesce around a common vision. And that across government, a level playing field is created that minimizes compliance burden.

We understand that regulation is not an end in itself. It’s a means to achieve more efficient market outcomes that benefit people. There’s still some way to go but we can see elements of these outcomes in many markets today. Hence, our expectations are high and many advocates for this future understand what needs to be done to get closer to market potential. So, for now the future is bright.