The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets highlighted a Financieele Dagblad column by Laura van Geest arguing that governments and firms should make digital systems easier to use and keep human support available. The column says Dutch consumers often overestimate their digital capabilities and need more help in stressful circumstances, so digital services should be designed around actual behaviour rather than assumed self-reliance. As supporting evidence, the piece says one in five people who report having the necessary digital skills cannot independently carry out simple tasks such as filing an online complaint, and one in five digitally skilled Dutch people still act unsafely online. It adds that action capacity falls during events such as divorce or bereavement, that 24% of theoretically educated people score low on this measure against 16% of practically educated people, and that one in six Dutch residents lacks basic security. The column says financial education improves thinking more than action, AI can both solve and worsen problems, and stricter European Commission proposals including the future Digital Fairness Act may help. It also points to service models that combine digital and human contact around life events and says the AFM wants to use qualitative research such as focus groups to better understand consumers behind the statistics.
Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets2026-06-05
Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets highlights digital vulnerability and calls for more accessible systems and human contact
The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets highlighted a column by its chair Laura van Geest urging governments and firms to design digital services around actual consumer behaviour and retain human support, noting that many Dutch consumers overestimate their digital skills and act unsafely online. The column cites evidence of limited “action capacity” in stressful life events, discusses how financial education and artificial intelligence affect behaviour, references forthcoming European Commission initiatives such as the Digital Fairness Act, and notes that the authority will use qualitative research to better understand consumers behind the statistics.