Complaints Policy

Company Overview

M&M FINTECH LIMITED (trading name Banky) is an EMD agent of an EMI license holder company – Financial House Ltd. The principal company is authorised by the FCA as an electronic money institution. It provides the following service under this license.

Policy Statement

Complaints and other forms of feedback provide valuable information about clients' satisfaction levels and give an opportunity for improvement. We may receive a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction which refer to our organisation, staff member or services. The following policy provides an overview of the handling process of Complaints and aims to ensure that:

There is a clear procedure of complaints handling;
Everyone at Banky knows what to do if a complaint is received;
All complaints will be handled as quickly as reasonably possible and in accordance with the regulatory requirements;
That complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired; and
All complaint information will be handled sensitively, involving only those who need to know and following any relevant data protection requirements.

Complaints will be accepted and investigated irrespective of the nature of the complaint or who the person making the complaint is. Banky is committed to resolve complaints fairly, reasonably and as quickly as possible, and to ensure that it is treating all customers fairly, we must ensure that the Company maintains high service standards. This policy does not cover complaints from staff, for such, please refer to the Whistleblowing Policy.

Handling Complaints

Complaint Definition

Banky must handle all complaints competently, diligently and impartially to ensure that we satisfy our regulatory requirements and respond effectively to its customers, we must understand what a complaint is.

As per the FCA's definition, a complaint is:

An expression of dissatisfaction, written or verbal, whether justified or not
Relating to the goods or services provided by Banky as an agent
Alleging financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience

All three elements must be present for a complaint. A query is where there is no expression of dissatisfaction, but rather a request for information or clarification. Queries, or other complaints made to Banky that do not fulfil all three elements above, still must be resolved correctly and within a reasonable amount of time as they may become a complaint.

Banky defines a customer as including:

any present customer, active or inactive;
former customers;
potential customers who are in the process of becoming contracted customers; and
An electronic money holder

Customers who are also entitled to bring their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) are classed as eligible complainants.

Eligible Complainant

All customer complaints must be handled in a fair and reasonable manner. But customers who are also eligible complainants must be handled in accordance with regulation and in line with this policy. The following customers are considered eligible complainants:

a consumer;
a micro-enterprise (employs fewer than 10 people and has a turnover or annual balance sheet that does not exceed €2 million)
a charity which has an annual income of less than £6.5 million
a trustee of a trust which has a net asset value of less than £5 million
a small business (employs fewer than 50 people, has a turnover of less than £6.5 million and balance sheet total less than £5 million)
a guarantor (an individual who is not a consumer but has given a guarantee in respect of an obligation or liability of a person which was a micro-enterprise or small business as at the date that the guarantee or security was given).

Complaints from eligible complainants are treated slightly differently than other customers as outlined in this policy, Banky must fulfil certain regulatory requirements when handling complaints from eligible complainants. As such, it is important that we know if a customer is also an eligible complainant from the outset.

Payment Services Regulations (PSRs)

A complaint received from an electronic money holder or a payment service user, who is not an eligible complainant, must be handled in accordance with this policy and the timeframes that apply to eligible complainants (as per section 101 of the PSRs 2017). But these complainants do not have to be referred to the FOS as they are unable to escalate complaints there.

Customer Awareness

All written customer complaints should be directed to compliance@banky.io

Whilst advice of this channel's existence is made through the complaint summary on the firm's website at www.banky.ioit must also be notified on all promotional material and issued to customers.

upon request
immediately before we enter a contract/point of sale
when acknowledging a complaint

A customer may wish to express their complaint verbally. Should a customer choose to make an oral complaint then the Banky employee must record details of the concern and send to the compliance@banky.io mailbox, even if the employee or an immediate colleague is the subject of the complaint.

The Compliance Department is responsible for publishing and maintaining on the Banky website, in clear, concise, and transparent language, the details of the process to be followed when making a complaint.

It is Banky's policy to ensure that this source is referenced within Banky's contractual terms and conditions and in all promotional material issued to customers.

Complaints Management Process

Stage One – Receipt of a complaint:

The complaints mailbox is managed and monitored by the Compliance Team.

It is Banky's policy that, on receipt of a complaint the firm must:

acknowledge receipt of the complaint to the customer, by sending a prompt written acknowledgment;
log the complaint, noting whether the firm's alleged failure related to the provision of payment services;
pass the complaint to the designated complaint handler in the relevant division and jurisdiction for resolution; and
retain communication with the Banky handler to ensure that it is addressed in line with requirements of ‘Recording Complaints' below.

If the complaint handler is unsure of the nature of the complaint, they must seek further information clarification from the customer in order to conduct a fair and thorough investigation. Notwithstanding that a Final Response letter (please see Customer Communication Timescales section) must be issued to the complainant within 15 business days following the day the complaint was received by Banky. In exceptional circumstances, this can be extended to 35 business days. Where the complaint does not relate to provision of electronic money or payment services (as per parts 6 and 7 of the PSRs 2017), a Financial Response must be issued within 8 weeks from the date the complaint was received.

All Personal Data processed during the complaint handling processes must be handled in accordance with Banky's Data Protection Policy and any related procedure(s).

If the complaint handler is satisfied that they possess all the information required to competently, diligently and impartially investigate the complaint, then they are to provide an introductory communication to the customer identifying themselves as the owner of the concern within Banky and setting out a timetable for resolution.

The complaint will be formally acknowledged within 48 hours and will be escalated to the SM team (the MLRO and the Director of the company). Please, escalate all complaints to the Compliance team, who will take care from there. The escalation to the Compliance Team is done by submitting an email to compliance@banky.io along with all applicable details.

Stage 2: Complaint resolution

Every complaint must be handled in an appropriate manner and within a reasonable time frame to best serve the interest of the complainant. Potential conflicts of interest must be identified in accordance with Banky's Conflict of Interest Policy.

Banky must seek to gather and to investigate all relevant evidence and information on each complaint in order to make a fair and consistent assessment. It must assess fairly, consistently and promptly:

the subject matter of the complaint;
whether the complaint should be upheld;
what remedial action or redress (or both) may be appropriate; and
if appropriate, whether Banky has reasonable grounds to be satisfied that another respondent may be solely or jointly responsible for the matter alleged in the complaint.

Factors that may be relevant in the assessment:

all the evidence available and the circumstances of the complaint;
similarities with other complaints received by the respondent;
relevant guidance published by regulatory authorities; and
appropriate decisions in similar cases issued by regulatory authorities.

Relevant business units can be given a chance to comment internally on a complaint, but to ensure that complaints are handled objectively, all answers to a complaint determination must be signed off by a senior manager in the relevant division/jurisdiction.

During the investigation of a complaint, the complainant must be kept informed of the progress being made and if there is likely to be any delays (please see the Customer Communication Timescales section).

Once the complaint has been assessed and investigated, Banky will communicate their decision clearly and promptly, explaining why the complaint has been upheld or rejected and advising any redress award.

Banky will then comply promptly with any offer of remedial action or redress accepted by the complainant.

The basic objective of redress is to put the customer, so far as possible, into the position they would have been in if the reason for the complaint had not occurred. Each case should be assessed individually and fairly, and we aim to be consistent with redress in accordance with the Financial Ombudsman Services guidance. Further information on understanding compensation can be found here https://cmc.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/cmcs/resolving-complaint/understanding-compensation

Complaint's redress is captured in the complaints log alongside all details of the complaint. Complaints redress monitoring will be tested using the Financial House compliance monitoring plan.

Banky may regard a complaint as closed in the following circumstances:

Once we have sent a Summary Resolution Communication or Final Response to the complainant, or
Where the complainant has indicated in writing their acceptance of an earlier response that we have sent to them

Customer Communication Timescales

Banky must ensure that it manages the expectations of its eligible complainants during the investigation of a complaint by providing an explanation of:

the complaints process;
potential handovers to specialist business functions; and
likely timescales, as appropriate (bearing in mind the complaint type and/or complexity).

While we aim to investigate and resolve all complaints as soon as possible, the following regulatory timeframes must be followed in all circumstances:

Acknowledgement

On receipt of a complaint, Banky must send the complainant a prompt written acknowledgement providing early reassurance that it has received the complaint and it is being dealt with.

Summary Resolution

If a complaint is resolved by close of business on the third working day from the date of receiving it, a Final Response does not have to be sent. Instead, a Summary Resolution must be sent to the complainant promptly.

A complaint is resolved when the complainant indicates the response from Banky is an acceptable resolution to the complaint. Neither of these communications has to be in writing, which means simple and straightforward complaints can be resolved more informally over the telephone. But a Summary Resolution must be sent to the complainant that:

summarises the complaint
states that we think the complaint has now been resolved
tells the customer they have the right to complain to the FOS within six months of the final response if they are not satisfied with the outcome
indicates that Banky is not happy to waive the relevant time limits
provides the address of the FOS, its website and explains that more information is available on its website.

A Summary Resolution template covering these points can be found at Annex 1.

Final Response

Where a complaint cannot be resolved at the end of the third business day, Banky must issue a Final Response, within:

15 business days from date of receipt, where the complaint relates to the provision of e-money or payment services (Parts 6 and 7 PSRs 2017)
In exceptional situations, where the response cannot be given within this timeframe for reasons beyond its control, Banky must send a holding reply explaining the reasons for the delay in resolving the complaint and specifying a deadline for future response (which will not exceed 35 business days).
8 weeks for all other complaints (those that do not relate to the e-money holders or payment service users right and obligations under Parts 6 and 7 of the PSRs)

All Final Responses must be sent in writing to the complainant, and should:

summarise the complaint
be open in acknowledging any mistakes made
give details of whether the complaint is accepted and where applicable, offer redress or remedial action to settle the matter
if the complaint is not accepted, state this and give reasons why it is rejected tell the customer they have the right to complain to the FOS within six months of the final response if they are not satisfied with the outcome
indicate that Banky is not happy to waive the relevant time limits
provide the address of the FOS, a link to its website and a copy of its standard explanatory leaflet.

A Final Response template covering these points can be found at Annex 2

Keeping the Complainant Informed

Where final answers cannot be provided within the regulatory timeframes, Banky must inform the customer of the reasons for the delay and advise the date when the answer is likely to be provided.

In terms of content, all updates must contain detail on:

the progress made to date;
the measures being taken to resolve the matter; and
the expected date of resolution or next update.

In exceptional circumstances, where Banky is not able to provide the customer with a final response within the timeframes, it must send the customer an update containing:

an explanation of why Banky has not been able to issue a final response; and
an indication of when Banky expects to provide a final response.

Customer communications

All complaints-related communications to customers must be made by way of the customer's preferred communication channel, providing that it is a durable medium (letter, email or fax). This doesn't preclude speaking to the customer in the first instance and, in fact, we encourage speaking in the first instance where it will repair or maintain the relationship with the customers.

All communications notifying the final resolutions of complaints must be approved by authorised management in the jurisdictions in which Banky operates and be clear, concise and satisfy the following requirements:

avoid the use of unexplained technical terms, jargon and abbreviations. Where use of such terms is unavoidable, a clear explanation must be provided;
set out in a logical structure, order and format, and show key information prominently;
where standard paragraphs are used, these must be relevant and, where appropriate, tailored to the specific circumstances of the case; and
consider any relevant previous communication with the customer regarding the matter that is being complained about.

Banky shall treat customers known to be in vulnerable1 circumstances sensitively and appropriately and tailor communications to their needs. Where it is specified that a communication must be provided in writing, Banky shall in addition provide the information in a different format, such as via a phone call, if that would better meet the customer's needs.

Remedial Action and Redress

Where a customer has been disadvantaged by a product or service failure, it is Banky policy to take whatever action is required to restore the customer to the position they would have been in, had the failure not occurred.

Where the customer is financially disadvantaged, Banky must reimburse any losses that the customer has directly incurred. Banky should aim to put the customer back in the same position they should be in, had the error or failure not been made.

Where the customer has been unreasonably inconvenienced by Banky's failure, then it is appropriate that the firm makes recompense for the burden it has caused in the form of an ex-gratia payment. In these circumstances, each Banky division has discretion to determine the level of redress paid to the customer, considering the level of inconvenience caused and local custom and practice.

The M&M Fintech Limited's Board must establish the discretion thresholds for senior management in the jurisdictions it operates, below which redress can be paid without escalation to the Board or a committee operating under delegated authority from the Board.

The Board must consider the appropriateness of the thresholds applied at least annually, and either review or revise.

Recording complaints

Every complaint, as well as a description of each measure taken to resolve it, should be recorded in the Complaints log.

All customer communications relating to complaint resolution must be recorded and stored on the customer relationship management system.

Monitoring

The Compliance Team must ensure that the provisions of this policy are being observed, having regard to:

the adequacy of notifications to customers promoting the complaints page on the Banky website;
the timescales applied in acknowledging, explaining and resolving complaints;
the clarity of communications to the customer;
the adequacy of the remedial action taken to reimburse any losses incurred by the customer;
the adequacy of complaints awareness training; and
the adequacy of the records retained relating to the complaint, both on the complaints log and on the customer relationship management system.

Internal Report – Root Cause Analysis

Banky Compliance Team must analyse complaints and complaints handling data to ensure early identification of trends in product or service failures by:

identifying the causes of the individual complaints in order to understand their origins;
considering whether these origins may also affect other processes or products, including those to which the complaints do not relate directly.

The output of this analysis must be shared with Senior Managers on at least a quarterly basis and with the Banky's Board on at least an annual basis.

As above, analysis of complaint resolution response times and customer communications must also be carried out as part of the second-line-of defence monitoring and the outputs shared directly with relevant Senior Managers and quarterly in the Compliance report to the Board or committee.

External Report

Banky must report complaint data to the FCA as required under DISP 1.10, both in terms of frequency and content.

Ownership of reporting complaints data reporting rests with the senior manager responsible for regulatory engagement in each jurisdiction where Banky operates.

Awareness

The current version of this policy must be available to all employees.

When changes to the policy are approved notification must be sent to all employees advising the revision.

The substance of the policy, particularly the understanding of the definition of a complaint, must also be communicated to employees through training and refreshed at least annually.

At induction, all employees will be provided with training on the policy and wider Complaint Handling initiatives. Training both initially and ongoing is delivered on the following basis:

General training including the Banky policy for all staff.
Specific training for managers on handling complaints and the Banky process.
Specific training for internal audit and control functions on identification and escalation of complaints, issues and irregularities.

Agent to Principal Process

Once a complaint is raised with the agent company – Banky has to update the Complaints log and provide full details and information, about the complaint, acknowledgment, redress of the case and must keep FH informed throughout the whole process of the complaint resolution. All information and details must be saved and the records kept for at least 5 years.

Annex 1 – Summary Resolution Letter

[complaint reference number]

Dear [insert name here].

[refer to email/telephone call etc. between Banky's Agent and complainant]

[briefly summarise the complaint and the agreed resolution with the customer that leads us to believe the complaint has been resolved] If the summary of your complaint has not been accurately described please do not hesitate to contact us.

[give details of when (if applicable) the offer / amendments to the services etc… will be made to settle the complaint with a clear explanation]

While we now consider this matter to be resolved, in the unlikely event that you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), free of charge – but you must do so within six months of the date of this communication.

If you do not refer your complaint in time, the FOS will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances. For example, if the FOS believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances.

Further details regarding the FOS can be obtained from their website atwww.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Yours sincerely
Banky Compliance Team

Annex 2 – Final Response Letter

[complaint reference number]

Dear [insert name here].

[refer to email/telephone call etc. between Banky's Agent and complainant]

We are writing to acknowledge your complaint dated [insert date]. (if an acknowledgment has not been previously sent)

We apologise that you feel you have cause for complaint and thank you for making us aware of this issue. We value all of our customers and strive to ensure all users have the best possible experience when using our products. We can assure you that your complaint has been dealt with as fairly and as quickly as possible.

[summarise the complaint] If the summary of your complaint has not been accurately described please do not hesitate to contact us.

[set out the results of your investigation and your final view on the issue the customer has raised; be open in acknowledging any mistakes that may have been made]

[give details as to whether the complaint has been rejected, accepted or simply resolved and (if applicable) details of any offer / amendments to the services etc… you have made to settle the complaint with a clear explanation of how you arrived at that offer/resolution. If the complaint was rejected, explain why]

[thank the customer for helping improve our services and hope our resolution shows that we value them as a customer]

While we now consider this matter to be closed, in the unlikely event that you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), free of charge – but you must do so within six months of the date of this communication.