Main Trade Directorate: in 2022, the motto of Consumer Day is "Fair digital financial services"
In the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade coordinates activities in the field of consumer protection. Other state bodies consider issues related to consumer protection in various fields of activity within their competence.
In the regions, state policy in the field of consumer protection is implemented by regional, city, and district executive committees.
Over the past year, structural divisions of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, city and district executive committees have considered 511 appeals from citizens on consumer protection issues, of which 211 (41%) were in the field of trade and public catering, 163 (32%) in housing and communal services, and 78 (15%) in consumer services.
Based on the results of the review, 15 orders to eliminate violations of the law were issued, which were executed within the established deadlines, and 10 administrative offense reports were drawn up. Material damage in the amount of 7.9 thousand rubles was compensated out of court.
In 2022, the motto of Consumer Day is "Fair digital financial services".
Consumers of financial services (banking, insurance, investment, etc.) have the same rights and obligations as in the case of any other services.
Issues of consumer protection arising from services provided by banks, leasing, and investment companies are considered by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, and in the case of insurance services, by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus.
The competence of these state bodies includes, first of all, monitoring compliance by financial organizations with the mandatory terms of contracts, and suppressing the imposition of
services, concealment of essential information, intentional misrepresentation, and other unfair practices.The use of digital technologies and the internet has enabled financial organizations to accelerate and simplify access to their services, creating a comfortable user environment.
According to a study conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in 2020, among residents of the Vitebsk region, the most in-demand digital financial instruments are internet banking (91.9% of respondents reported using it) and mobile banking (51.9%).
The least popular online operations include insurance, opening deposits, current accounts, filing tax returns, obtaining loans, and programs and applications for tracking income and expenses, and financial planning.
The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the trend related to the development of digital services, but at the same time, the risks for clients of financial companies have increased.
The higher the financial literacy of consumers, the greater their opportunities to use the full spectrum of digital technologies and protect themselves from internet threats, including financial fraud.
A plan of action to improve the financial literacy of the population for 2019–2024 has been approved and is being implemented in the republic.
In particular, the plan provides for the functioning of the Unified Internet Portal for the Financial Literacy of the Population of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.
With the help of the portal, one can improve their financial competence, familiarize themselves with the basic rules of security when using digital financial services, etc.