On 2 July, AFI’s South Asia Regional Financial Inclusion Initiative (SARFII) organized a webinar exploring the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)’s experience in market conduct supervision. 

CBSL experts Yanaka Ranaweera, Kamal Dissanayake​ and Waruna Wickumsiri explained the evolution of financial consumer protection frameworks in Sri Lanka, including the issuance of consumer protection regulations and the establishment of a digital platform for complaint handling, and shared data on the volume and nature of the complaints being received by CBSL’s Financial Consumer Relations Department. 

The experts also discussed how supervisory technology can be adopted for market conduct supervision, and revealed major current consumer protection challenges, notably the rise in digital and AI-related financial scams. 

“Sri Lanka’s approach to consumer protection, complaints handling, and supervision provides useful lessons for regulators not just in other South Asian jurisdictions, but worldwide,” said AFI’s Regional Manager for Asia, Nangsi Dema. 

“Consumer complaints should not simply be viewed as individual issues requiring resolutions, but as providing valuable insights into customer experience, emerging risks, and opportunities to improve the financial system,” said CBSL Deputy Director, Financial Consumer Relations Department, Yanaka Ranaweera. “Complaint handling serves as a critical source of intelligence, enabling regulators to identify systematic issues and strengthen supervisory interventions, and promote fair treatment of financial consumers.” 

​The webinar, the latest in SARFII’s ‘‘Learnovation Lounge’ series, is available to watch below.