Cyprus Forum speakers call for closer financial oversight and clearer consumer safeguards

Nicosia, Cyprus. Closer coordination between regulators and clearer consumer safeguards are needed as digital banking, cryptoassets and fintech blur the boundaries between financial services, industry and policy experts said at the Cyprus Forum. They discussed how supervision can keep pace with technology without holding back innovation.

Consumer protection and trust

Financial Commissioner Valentina Georgiadou said financial services are changing faster than regulatory frameworks can adjust, making effective consumer protection and stronger coordination between supervisory authorities more important.

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She said “security and trust” remain fundamental to the sector’s development because consumers are more willing to invest when they know a mechanism can protect them if something goes wrong.

Georgiadou said consumers often do not know where to turn when problems arise. Complaints reaching the Office of the Financial Commissioner also show that people are sometimes referred to it without being told whether their case meets the requirements for examination.

The ability to invest or make transactions with a single click has changed consumer behaviour, she said. Users often fail to check which company provides a service, which authority supervises it or what rights they have if a problem arises. She also highlighted growing fraud and cyber security risks and called for financial education so consumers understand new products and their rights before investing.

Boundaries between services

Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) general director Andreas Papadatos said the challenge extends beyond technology developing faster than legislation. Technology has “begun in practice to remove the boundaries between activities”, he said.

Supervision remains organised around different institutions, activities and regulatory responsibilities, Papadatos said, while consumers increasingly access those services through the same screen. Glafkos Clerides Institute vice-president Irena Georgiadou also took part in the discussion.