The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently issued a request for information to better understand the benefits and risks associated with new financial services that rely on access to consumer financial accounts and accountrelated information.9 In addition to the risks I have outlined that are specific to new financial technologies, firms also must control for risks that have always been present, even in brick-and-mortar financial institutions.
Population ageing of the scale we are facing will exert tremendous demands on the resources of our economies. These demands are partly financial: the cost of old-age pensions and health care will increase substantially and will challenge the sustainability of public finances. To avoid taxes increasing to unsustainable levels, pre-funding is a necessity in most countries.