National Financial Ombud Scheme – A one-stop ombud scheme

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GUEST – Reana Steyn - Lead Ombud for the Banking Division


The newly-formed National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO) today announced the commencement of operations as
a single, one-stop, all-inone dispute resolution service made up of the four (4) former existing services -the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS); the Credit Ombud (CO); the Ombudsman for Long-Term Insurance (OLTI); and the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance
(OSTI).

The Ombud Council, granted the NFO recognition (under section 194 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act,
9 of 2017 (FSR Act), as an industry ombud scheme on 23 February 2024. Complaints will be accepted from 1 March 2024. All the services and assistance previously provided to individuals and companies by the previous Ombud schemes will now be available through
the newly established NFO, at no cost to consumers. The amalgamation to form the NFO is expected to leverage the success of their predecessors while providing a streamlined, co-ordinated, and less confusing alternate dispute resolution framework for financial
customers.
4 Mar 2024 3PM English South Africa Business News · Investing

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