On 1 January 2020, the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA) came into force. Since then, clients of financial service providers can make use of ombuds services through a recognised mediation procedure. To do so, financial service providers operating in Switzerland must be affiliated with an ombudsman recognised by the Swiss Federal Finance Department (FDF).
The Swiss Arbitration Centre obtained recognition from the FDF and offers these specific financial mediation services to all interested financial service providers, client advisers, and fiduciaries and their clients, in accordance with its Rules of Mediation Procedure for Financial Services.
Non-Swiss financial service providers that do not operate in Switzerland and do not provide services to Swiss-based clients are not required to join a Swiss mediation body. However, they can agree with their non-Swiss based clients to use the Swiss Arbitration Centre’s financial mediation body either by inserting a mediation clause in their contracts referring to the Swiss Arbitration Centre and its Rules of Mediation Procedure for Financial Services, or by agreeing with their clients to refer to them in the event of a dispute.