KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 -- For anyone who has applied for a loan or credit card, product disclosure sheets (PDS) are often treated as little more than paperwork to skim through or sign off on.

Although these documents are filled with technical terms and lengthy explanations that can overwhelm the average consumer, they do serve an important purpose.

After all, PDS contain important information a consumer should understand before committing to a financial product, from repayment obligations to potential risks.

But how do you get a consumer to actually read PDS? Well, banking regulators like Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) design them using behavioural insights in order to fit that purpose.

It's just science

All PDS are now standardised under ...