INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES FOR ENSURING ACCESSIBILITY TO FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Abstract

The article examines the international legal framework for ensuring the accessibility of financial technologies and financial services for persons with disabilities as a component of the implementation of the principles of equality, non-discrimination and financial inclusion. The theoretical and methodological basis of the analysis is human rights and the "accessibility by design" approach. The latter is predicated on the premise that accessibility should not be considered an additional service option, but rather a mandatory standard for designing digital and organisational processes in the financial sector. This text focuses on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), with particular emphasis on the obligations of states to ensure accessibility (including digital), to implement universal design, and to provide "reasonable accommodation" as an individual means of removing barriers. It has been demonstrated that international standards are complemented by a "consumer" dimension through the UN Guiding Principles on Consumer Protection (UNGCP, 2015), which integrate policies of financial inclusion, financial education and effective protection/redress, with a focus on vulnerable consumers, in particular people with disabilities, in the digital environment. The role of Council of Europe standards in prohibiting discrimination and providing effective remedies is outlined, with the aim of reinforcing accessibility requirements as an element of good governance and proportionate regulation. In the applied aspect, typical accessibility barriers in fintech services (identification and authentication, interfaces, accessibility of contracts and disclosure, support channels and dispute resolution) are systematized and it is demonstrated that such barriers often have a "technical" form of indirect discrimination. The conclusion drawn is that there is a necessity to combine international human rights standards with consumer and supervisory mechanisms, and that this should be achieved by the introduction of measurable requirements for the accessibility of digital financial services, mandatory alternative channels for critical user scenarios, accessible information formats and effective complaint procedures. Proposals for implementing standards in national regulation are outlined, including the enshrinement of the principle of "accessibility by design", institutional accessibility audit, staff training, standards for accessible procurement of IT solutions, and monitoring indicators for regulators. Research methods. The methodological basis of the study is rooted in formal-legal and comparative-legal methods, encompassing a systematic analysis of international acts and doctrinal approaches, complemented by a functional approach to assessing accessibility through the lens of critical user scenarios in the domain of financial services. The anticipated scientific outcome is to elucidate the content of international accessibility standards in the fintech sphere and to ascertain the directions of their practical application as conditions for ensuring real equality, financial inclusion and effective protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the digital financial environment. The purpose of the article is to provide a comprehensive overview of the international legal principles that ensure the accessibility of financial technologies and financial services for persons with disabilities. In addition, it determines their normative content and practical implications for state policy and financial regulation. In order to achieve the aforementioned goal, the following tasks have been established: The following four points will be discussed in this text: 1) an analysis of the basic standards of the UN and the Council of Europe on equality, non-discrimination, accessibility, universal design and reasonable accommodation in the context of digital financial services; 2) an outline of typical "barrier points" in fintech services (identification/authentication, interfaces, accessibility of contracts and information disclosure, support and complaint channels); 3) a substantiation of the "accessibility by design" approach as a legally significant standard; 4) the formulation of recommendations for the implementation of international standards into national regulation, including supervisory mechanisms, requirements for financial service providers and guarantees of effective consumer protection. Conclusions. In general, UN and Council of Europe standards establish a clear "matrix" for assessing the accessibility of financial technologies: 1) non-discrimination (prohibition of direct/indirect discrimination; prohibition of refusal to provide reasonable accommodation as a form of discrimination); 2) accessibility as a prerequisite for the realisation of rights (especially in the ICT environment); 3) universal design + individual adaptation as complementary mechanisms; 4) protection of consumers of financial services (transparency, fair practices, inclusiveness, effective legal remedies); 5) digital rights and data protection as a "legal shell" for secure and non-discriminatory digitalisation of finance. In order to ensure the accessibility of fintech services, regulatory mechanisms should be considered as a three-pronged construct, comprising compliance (internal policies and quality control of accessibility according to standards such as WCAG and ISO organisational practices), supervision (external verification, regulations and preventive interventions by the regulator) and liability (sanctions and effective legal remedies, including complaints, compensation and anti-discrimination mechanisms). The Ukrainian regulatory framework already contains key "pillars" for such a model. These include a positive obligation to remove barriers and ensure accessibility of services and information for persons with disabilities, consumer guarantees regarding accessible information, as well as supervisory and sanctioning powers of the NBU in the field of payment services and consumer protection. The logical progression of this system is inextricably linked to the delineation of "accessibility by design" stipulations within secondary legislation, the implementation of periodic supervisory evaluations of client pathways, and the assurance that no component of security becomes an impediment without an alternative that is compatible with human rights and dignity. In order to achieve genuine financial inclusion for persons with disabilities, it is essential that the system be regarded as "complete". This necessitates the consolidation of accessibility by design in sectoral legislation, standards for accessible interfaces and contracts, alternative identification procedures, mandatory staff training, procurement standards for state IT solutions, as well as supervision and accountability based on measurable indicators. In the context of European integration, it is rational to implement these changes through harmonisation with EU approaches (EAA) and simultaneously through the UNGCP as a framework for financial protection of vulnerable consumers in the digital economy.