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Global Customer Service Week 2023: Bank of Ghana Consumer Protection Mechanisms

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Global Customer Service Week 2023: Bank of Ghana Consumer Protection Mechanisms

Financial Consumer Protection has gained significance in the world over, following the  2007/2008 Global Financial Crisis which exposed gaps in consumer protection  mechanisms on the part of regulators as well as regulated institutions. 

Central Banks have since the crisis accepted consumer protection as one of the tools for  ensuring financial stability and have developed regulatory frameworks that mandate  supervisors and regulated institutions to place precedence over practices that  guarantee protection of consumers. 

According to the World Bank Group Technical Note, June 2019, an effective financial  consumer protection framework should ensure recourse mechanisms that are accessible,  efficient and enable consumers assert their rights to have their complaints addressed in  a transparent and just way and within a reasonable timeframe.1 

Section 3(2)(c)(d)(e) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016  (Act 930), mandates the Bank to develop appropriate measures to ensure that the  interests of clients of regulated institutions are adequately protected. 

The Bank issues appropriate consumer protection directives, promotes fair market  practices and ensures responsible lending and borrowing in the industry. The Market  Conduct Office established by the Bank provides a clear point process and an avenue  for customers to escalate their grievances if regulated institutions are unable to resolve  their complaints amicably. Beside resolving complaints, the mechanism fosters  confidence building in the financial system and promote financial inclusion through  awareness creation. 

1 World Bank Group Technical Note, Complaints Handling within Financial Service Providers – Principles, Practices,  and Regulatory Approaches, JUNE 2019

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The Bank of Ghana so far has succeeded in issuing consumer protection directives to  address regulatory gaps, promote standardization in the resolution of complaints and  respond to emerging practices in the industry comprising: 

  1. Consumer Recourse Mechanism Guideline for Financial Service Providers, 2017; 2. Disclosure and Product Transparency Rules for Credit Products and Services, 2017; 3. Notice on Abolition of Unfair Fees, Charges and Other Practices in the Banking  Sector, 2021; 
  2. Notice on Sanctions for the Issuance of Dud Cheques, 2021; and 5. Unclaimed Balances and Dormant Account Directive, 2021. 

These measures indicate the degree of focus on consumer rights and interests. 

As part of our supervisory functions, the Bank promptly identifies systemic issues in product  and service designs, channels, systems, and third-party arrangements and determines  consumers’ level of satisfaction and appreciation of their rights in procuring products and  services from Financial Service Providers. As new products and services are introduced  onto the market, the Bank ensures they fully address consumer interest and all disclosures  are front-loaded.  

The Bank embarks on all-year-round financial literacy programme which targets the most  vulnerable in society. Additionally, the Bank organizes annual workshops for Consumer  Reporting and Compliance Officers of banks to assess the root causes of all recurring  complaints and proffer directives to mitigate recurrence. 

The Year 2022 Complaints Management Report published by the Bank showed a 15%  increase in complaints escalated by consumers of financial services to the Bank of  Ghana as compared with 2021. The rise was largely attributed to the increased awareness of the public and the confidence reposed in the Central Bank to use its  supervisory authority to adjudicate and resolve complaints. The numbers also suggest  that consumers are becoming more assertive of their rights to fair treatment and would  not hesitate to trigger the second level resolution process if they are not satisfied with the  financial service provider’s resolution.

Despite the increase in complaints escalated to  the Central Bank, it was observed that, regulated institutions resolved most of the cases reported by consumers though their Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) processes and only  referred the complex complaints to the Bank of Ghana.  

The recurring themes for complaints received comprised delays with discounting of  investments, variation of loan terms unilaterally by lenders, delays in loan processing and  poor approach to loan recovery. Others included disputed charges on accounts, issues with digital channels such as high downtimes and truncated transactions, and mobile  money fraud.  

It is pertinent to note that, the Consumer Recourse Mechanism Guideline for Financial  Service Providers (2017) prescribes the three (3) level process for dispute resolution  namely: 1) Financial Service Provider 2) Bank of Ghana and 3) The Courts. 

Our channels for reporting complaints comprising email, phone, WhatsApp, in-person  and post remain accessible to complainants and the general public as follows:

I. Walk-in – 7th Floor, Cedi House, Accra, and Regional Offices

II. Phone – 0302665005/0302665252 

III. Email – complaints.office@bog.gov.gh 

  1. WhatsApp – 0596912354/0501502270 
  2. Post – P.O. Box GP 2674, Accra 

On Global Customer Service Week 2023, we remind ourselves of a quote by Horst Schulze  which says, ‘unless you have 100% customer satisfaction, you must improve’. As we  celebrate our customers, it is our fervent hope and expectation that regulated institutions  will recognize consumer complaints as a measure of the adequacy of the redress  structures, and an impetus for the improvement of our consumer protection measures.  

The Bank of Ghana is committed to empowering consumers through financial literacy  and sensitization programs, ensuring timely resolution of consumer complaints, providing  a legal framework that adequately protects consumers, while helping the industry  improve on customer service delivery and experience. 

Happy Customer Service Week!!!

Tags: Bank of GhanaGlobal Customer Service WeekGlobal Customer Service Week 2023: Bank of Ghana Consumer Protection Mechanisms
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