Rafe Mazer

Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Rafe Mazer works with CGAP's Policy Team on applying behavioral research to consumer protection and financial inclusion. For more than five years he has been designing and leading behavioral research projects with policymakers, providers and donors to help understand how our behaviors impact financial decisions and outcomes.

Research issues Rafe has explored include: Does digital delivery credit change how we borrow and save? Why do financial sales staff sometimes give the right advice, and others times mislead consumers? Do consumers really care about their data privacy in financial inclusion? Why do some consumers choose to complain about a problem, while others remain silent?

This research has been used to develop a range of financial inclusion solutions, including interactive SMS for mobile savings and credit, key facts statements and disclosure regulations, complaints handling regulations, data disclosure messaging, and regulations for consumer protection in digital financial services. He has led research in markets including Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines, and Tanzania.

By Rafe Mazer

Blog

It's Time to Slow Digital Credit's Growth in East Africa

New research from Kenya and Tanzania reveals that digital credit is often used for consumption purposes and that delinquency and default rates are high, suggesting funders of digital credit markets should prioritize consumer protection.
Blog

Protecting Consumers Means Thinking Like Consumers

People often make unexpected, even counter-intuitive, financial decisions. Understanding why is the starting point for good financial consumer protection policy.
Blog

Kenya’s Rules on Mobile Money Price Transparency Are Paying Off

Kenya's pricing transparency rules have made customers more aware of the costs of using certain digital financial services, according to a new CGAP survey.
Research

Digital Consumer Credit: Four Ways Providers can Improve Customer Experience

CGAP partnered with six digital credit providers to identify opportunities to increase transparency over terms and conditions, improve loan repayments, manage credit risk, and help product sustainably. 

Blog

Digital Credit: Data Sharing Can Improve Product Diversity

In a CGAP and M-Kopa pilot in Kenya, customers with greater control over their credit histories took up more credit and were more likely to pay it off in full.