The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the new rules of procedure on handing financial consumer complaints is set to take effect next month.
“The issuance of the rules of procedure is expected to further strengthen the BSP’s authority to promote the well-being of Filipino financial consumers,” said BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said.
The regulator issued Circular No. 1169 last March 24 providing for the Rules of Procedure for the Consumer Assistance Mechanism (CAM), Mediation and Adjudication of Cases in the BSP to implement Section 6 (E) and (F) of Republic Act 11765 or the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act (FCPA) in line with its broader efforts to promote the welfare of financial consumers.
The FCPA is a priority legislative measure of the BSP in the 18th Congress. It was enacted to address the State’s policy to ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place to protect the interest of consumers of financial products and services by providing, among others, effective handling of financial consumer disputes.
The circular embodies the rules governing the handling of complaints filed with the BSP by financial consumers against BSP-supervised institutions (BSIs).
The new rules provides several remedies that may be availed of by the financial consumers (i.e., BSP’s CAM, mediation, and adjudication) in seeking BSIs immediate resolution of their complaints.
It also provides, among others, the definition, scope, nature, and requirements of the BSP CAM, mediation and adjudication.
The new rules would apply to all financial consumer complaints filed with the BSP on its effectivity date provided that the cause or causes of action subject of the complaint accrued after FCPA’s effectivity last June 3, 2022.
