For eight years, the Financial Health Network has championed innovative strategies for meeting the needs of underbanked consumers. While these years have seen sweeping changes in the financial services landscape, we believe one point holds true: high-quality products and services can be good for the consumer and good for business. In 2012, the Financial Health Network has emphasized more than ever our belief in the promise of this idea. Our efforts to inform, advise, advocate, and invest have all started with our deep commitment to quality, and we are proud to share with you our 2012 accomplishments.
The Compass Principles, which we co-created with our stakeholders in 2011, embody our vision for the future of financial services. In 2012, we offered them as standards of excellence for the design and delivery of financial tools. We were delighted that eight companies made a Compass Commitment, embracing the Principles and publicly committing to specific, measurable initiatives that promise to improve consumers’ financial lives.
In June, we released the Compass Guide to Prepaid, promoting guidelines for quality and transparency in general purpose reloadable prepaid cards. Throughout the year, companies began to adopt these standards, especially our model fee disclosure box.