Updated: 26.08.2024

Your Rights Protector in the Financial Market

The Office of the Financial System Mediator (hereinafter referred to as the Office) is an organization with an independent management system established by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia. The Office was created according to the "Law on Financial System Mediator" adopted on June 17, 2008, and started its professional activities on January 24, 2009.

 The essential guarantee for the effective operation of the Office and gaining the public's trust is the values that are fundamental principles of its activities. These principles include:

• Impartiality
• Transparency
• Efficiency
• Justice

The Office's mission is to protect the rights and interests of consumers in the financial sector, ensuring the swift, effective, and free examination of their claims, increasing public trust in the financial system, and enhancing financial intermediation.

The professional activity of the Mediator is the swift, effective, and free examination and resolution of claims filed by individuals and micro-entrepreneurial entities against financial organizations.

The Office is authorized to examine claims if the actions or inactions that serve as the basis occurred after August 2, 2008, and if the claimant approached the Mediator within six months of contacting the financial organization.

The Office can be approached with claims related to property up to 10 million AMD or its equivalent in foreign currency, as well as non-property claims related to or connected with credit information. The claim must have been previously submitted to the financial organization.

A consumer may submit a claim to the Mediator against the following financial organizations operating in the territory of Armenia:

• Banks
• Credit organizations
• Insurance companies
• The Armenian Motor Insurers' Bureau
• Insurance brokers
• Investment companies
• Pawnshops
• Currency exchange operators
• Currency dealer-brokerage operators
• Money transfer operators
• Credit bureaus

 By approaching the Mediator, the client loses nothing because the Mediator's services are free, and the examination process is simple and swift—without any hassle. There is no need for a lawyer, and the Mediator's decision is not binding; the client can always go to court if they disagree with the Mediator's decision.

The Mediator is trustworthy because it has an independent management system and is funded by financial organizations. Regularly published reports ensure the transparency of the Office's activities. Clients are always given the opportunity for oral hearings, where the parties can present their respective positions and reach a mutual agreement.

The Mediator is not authorized to examine a claim if a court or arbitration tribunal has already made a decision on the same claim, or if the claim is currently being reviewed by a court, arbitration tribunal, or the Mediator.

Examples of claims the Mediator is authorized to examine:

• The consumer made a money transfer and suffered a financial loss due to the delay.
• The consumer insured their car, and it was damaged in an accident, but the insurance company refuses to compensate for the damage.
• A charge was made from the consumer's payment card without their knowledge.
• The consumer believes that the credit organization or bank incorrectly calculated their loan interest rates/monthly payments.

Examples of claims the Mediator is not authorized to examine:

• The consumer demands that the bank extend the payment term for the interest on their loan contract.
• The consumer is dissatisfied with the services provided by a mobile service provider and claims they were overcharged.
• The credit organization or bank refuses to grant a loan.
• The consumer is a depositor or creditor of a liquidated bankrupt organization, etc.