Banking mediation, a means of settling disputes amicably and avoiding legal action, is currently reserved for individual customers, but could well be extended to business customers. In any case, this is what the French Banking Federation is recommending to its member establishments.
A possibility considered by the Observatoire du financement des entreprises
Banking mediation is a free service that enables a number of disputes to be settled out of court. Currently reserved for private individuals, this service could also be opened up to business customers by July 2022, as recommended by the French Banking Federation (FBF).
The FBF issued this recommendation on the basis of a report by the Observatoire du financement des entreprises, published in March 2021, in which access to banking services for VSEs and SMEs was studied.
The report recommended "that a study be carried out by the French Banking Federation on the feasibility and conditions for setting up a banking mediation service for professional customers (individuals acting for professional purposes) on issues relating to the operation of bank accounts".
The report by the Observatoire du financement des entreprises also stated that "this study could draw on lessons learned from experiments set up in this area by certain banks, or from existing mediation mechanisms in other fields".
Mediation procedures for professionals
The French Banking Federation has carried out this study and has just submitted its conclusions to the Observatoire du financement des entreprises. It recommends opening up the banking mediation service to business customers, and calls on the Federation's member banks to take the necessary steps over the next 12 months.
"In a recent press release, the FBF said: "This recommendation to set up a conventional banking mediation service for professionals demonstrates the banking sector's determination to continue and further develop customer support and to deal with difficulties in a spirit of listening and dialogue.
The FBF recommends that, as in the case of individual customers, banking mediation for business customers should cover "all banking operations linked to account operation and means of payment".
On the other hand, "decisions relating to the granting or termination of financing" would not fall within the remit of the mediators, since the Médiation du crédit aux entreprises agreement has been responsible for this since 2009.
Lastly, banking mediation will not apply to professionals whose case is being handled by the district court or commercial court, in the event of a commercial dispute or financial difficulties.
The FBF stipulates that professional customers must first make a complaint in writing to the bank, and may call on the banking mediation service within 2 months, whether or not a response has been received, from the moment they are not satisfied with the response. As with private customers, this service will be free of charge for business customers.