( 3 minutes read)
· Soon Seychelles will have a new consumer protection bill for the financial sector
· The work for framing a legislation has already started by the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA)
Soon Seychelles will have a new consumer protection bill for the financial sector. The work for framing a legislation has already started by the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The consumer protection framework is aimed at ensuring more transparency, responsible pricing, and protection of data and privacy and for redressing consumer complaints in an expeditious manner.
Presently, the law allows both the consumers and the financial service providers to mediate their differences among themselves further to seeking direct mediatory assistance from the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority as the financial regulators.
The bill being proposed will give both regulators more teeth than before. They will be empowered to directly mediate disputes between clients and financial service providers. Non-compliance will result in the suspension of licenses in part or in full, partial or total suspension of products and services or to refund the consumer affected. Legislation will cover banks, bureau de change, mobile money, gambling institutions, and insurance companies. Steve Fanny explained that the input of the general public at these consultations is crucial. The need to introduce a consumer protection framework in Seychelles was among the priorities identified in the Financial Sector Development Implementation Plan adopted by the government in 2014.
