Digital Financial Services tools in SPI Online

SPI Online now includes new assessment tools and indicators based on the Management Standards for the Responsible Provision of Digital Financial Services (DFS Standards).

The DFS Standards help financial service providers assess their practices for the responsible provision of digital financial services. They build on the Universal Standards for Social and Environmental Performance Management and the Client Protection Standards, adapting relevant indicators to a digital context and adding new management practices for risks specific to digital products and channels.

What are the DFS assessment tools?

Two DFS assessment tools are being introduced in SPI Online.

• DFS Full provides a comprehensive assessment against the DFS Standards.

• DFS ALINUS is a shorter assessment based on a subset of DFS indicators, designed primarily for investors conducting due diligence or monitoring.

The current tools cover the first five dimensions of the DFS Standards. A sixth dimension, Responsible Growth and Returns, is under development and will be added in 2027.

Which assessment should I use?

• If your institution is primarily or entirely a digital financial service provider, use the DFS Full assessment.

• If your institution offers financial services through a combination of traditional and digital channels, use the relevant SEPM assessment and select Digital among the institution's activities. SPI Online will then include the additional DFS indicators relevant to digital financial services.

The same principle applies to Client Protection assessments: selecting Digital as an activity adds the relevant DFS indicators.

How were the DFS Standards built?

The DFS Standards are closely connected to Cerise+SPTF's existing standards.

Their starting point included the Client Protection indicators and the indicators used in ALINUS. These were reviewed and adapted where needed for a digital context—for example, by replacing references to physical branches or face-to-face interactions with language relevant to digital channels.

New management practices were then added to address risks specific to digital financial services, including areas such as cybersecurity, digital fraud, customer data, third-party providers and algorithm bias.

As a result, users familiar with SEPM, ALINUS or Client Protection will recognize many practices in the DFS Standards, alongside additional indicators focused specifically on digital finance.

What changes for SEPM and Client Protection assessments?

Previously, selecting Digital as an activity in an SEPM or Client Protection assessment resulted in only a limited number of additional indicators.

With the integration of the DFS Standards, selecting Digital now adds a broader set of indicators covering the management practices and risks particularly relevant to digital financial services.

Users may therefore notice that an SEPM or Client Protection assessment contains significantly more indicators than before when Digital is selected.

This is intentional: the aim is to make sure the assessment reflects the institution's actual delivery model and the specific risks associated with digital financial services.