MALG Conference 2024 Session Synopses
Also see programme and speakers.
Opening Speech: Abigail Marshall Katung, Lord Mayor of Leeds
Keynote Speaker: Susan Allen OBE, Yorkshire Building Society (sponsored by Angel Advance)
Partnering to Build Financial Wellbeing
We can achieve so much more together. Susan Allen, CEO of Yorkshire Building Society, will explain how partnerships have helped them support thousands of people with financial wellbeing and how, through innovation, research and customer-centricity, they are working to encourage everyone to adopt healthy financial habits.
Breakout 1a: Fintech: Tackling Access to Financial Services and Streamlining the Consumer Journey
This session will explore the FCA’s Financial Inclusion TechSprint which ran from March to May 2024 and the technology-based and industry-led innovative solutions that were developed to tackle challenges faced by UK consumers in accessing financial products and services. The TechSprint saw various stakeholders from UK and Scottish Governments, financial firms, Fintech and other consumer body groups as well as academics come together to seek ways in improving access using digital ID, mobile banking and AI to remove barriers.
The session will seek to:
- Understand the current state of affairs and why a Financial Inclusion TechSprint was so important.
- Explore how technology & AI is being utilised to improve access to everyday products such as basic bank accounts, access to credit or insurance. Discuss the innovative solutions developed via the TechSprint aiming to deliver positive outcomes for those who may be financially excluded or been under-served by the financial sector in the past.
- Examine the potential barriers to uptake in the innovative solutions.
- Discuss what comes next in terms of post-TechSprint work and development.
Breakout 1b: Narrowing the Inequality Gap: Working Together to Build the Nation’s Financial Resilience
The cost of living crisis may have fallen off the front pages but getting help to people who need it most is as important as ever. In 2024 a third of adults are struggling to cope financially and over 1 in 5 adults are living in poverty. Each year, people miss out on an estimated £23 billion in benefits and around £2bn in discretionary support and grants due to low awareness, stigma, and the complexity and confusion that is seemingly baked in.
Deven Ghelani, director and founder of Policy in Practice, leads a panel of four, all of whom met through MALG last year and are now working together to working together to make support easier to access. We’ll talk through what makes a successful partnership, from working together, product integration and commercial approaches to keep costs under control. In this interactive session, we ask the audience how we can all work together to build the nation’s financial resilience!
Breakout 1c: Engaging with and Supporting Hard to Reach Communities
This session will focus in on cohorts of consumers in society who are particularly difficult for creditors and others to engage with. It will bring together experts from community debt advice, Local Government, and fintech to understand what the issues are and how these individuals can be best supported to improve their financial resilience.
Interactive ‘Catch Box’ Session: Financial Capability in the ‘Finfluencer’ Age (sponsored by Acquired.com)
In this fast-paced, interactive ‘catch box’ session, the audience will have the opportunity to get involved in a debate on the pros and cons of the growth in online influencers offering financial advice via social media. The panel of financial capability experts will explore what the latest trends are, not just amongst Gen Z but also older generations, and what progress has been made to break down taboos around talking about money, plus what the risks are of taking unverified advice. They’ll look at how financial education is changing and interacting with the online world and what can be learnt from platforms like tiktok and instagram about getting complex information across succinctly, helping to overcome consumers’ fear of numbers and financial terminology, and removing shame.
Breakout 2a: Debt Collection and Advice in the Age of AI: Opportunities and Challenges
This session will delve into the intersection of debt management and artificial intelligence (AI), exploring how generative AI technology is changing the landscape of debt collection, and debt advice. As both sectors rapidly adopt AI solutions, this session aims to highlight the opportunities and challenges that come with this technological advancement. It will:
- Understand AI’s current role in Debt Collection and Debt Advice.
- Explore how AI is being utilised to improve debt collection processes, improve customer engagement, better identify vulnerabilities, and provide personalised debt advice.
- Discuss case studies and real-world applications of AI in debt collection or debt advice.
- Examine the ethical considerations and potential biases in AI algorithms.
- Address privacy concerns and regulatory compliance issues related to the use of AI in financial services.
- Predict future developments in AI technologies that could further revolutionise debt collection or debt advice processes.
- Ask whether AI will replace agents or debt advisers.
- Discuss the potential impact of AI on customer behaviour.
Breakout 2b: In-Work and in Poverty: The New Normal?
Following years of austerity and stagnant wages, the pandemic, and cost of living crisis, there are more and more households in financial difficulty where at least one adult works full time. Is this the ‘new normal’ for a large proportion of the working population and is there hope for a way out to a more financially resilient future for those with reliable income.
Breakout 2c: Renters’ Rights: Creating Financial Stability for Private Renters
As the Renters’ Rights Bill goes through Parliament, this session will provide an opportunity to discuss how private tenants facing financial difficulty can be best supported.
Covering a broad view of the issue at both a local and national level the three panellists, along with the Chair, will take a deep dive into this issue. The session will cover the current state of the private rented sector, the Renters’ Rights Bill, and what could be further improved. The session will also take a look at what’s happening on the ground in Leeds and how Greater Manchester Combined Authority hope the Good Landlord Charter will improve standards for both landlords and tenants. Finally, there’ll be a lens on the advice and support needs of landlords as they help struggling tenants.