Technology promises to overcome traditional barriers to financial inclusion, in particular by harnessing insights from consumers’ personal data. However, use of personal data creates new risks for consumers. Service providers must build consumers’ trust, a necessary precondition to increased participation in formal finance. K Puttaswamy v Union of India frames the use of personal data within the rubric of informational privacy, and in doing so provides guidance about how data practices and regulation in finance can evolve to align with citizens’ rights and reasonable expectations of informational privacy.
