The Deputy will be aware that in my role as Minister for Finance I have no direct function in the relationship between the banks and their customers. I have no statutory function in relation to the banking decisions made by individual lending institutions at any particular time and these are taken by the board and management of the relevant institution. This includes decisions in relation to what services are provided by the banks.
The Deputy also may wish to note that in Ireland banks do not exclusively offer credit and debit card payment facilities to businesses. Furthermore, there are financial service companies which manage an account and relationship between a retailer and various card schemes known as acquirers. Acquiring is a competitive market in Ireland, there are a range of options available to merchants from which to choose, including banks, bank subsidiaries and other payment institutions. If a merchant is not satisfied with their acquirer, they could stand to benefit from shopping around and choosing a different acquirer for their business.
My role is to ensure that there is an appropriate framework in place for the resolution of complaints in the financial services sector, including complaints about the refusal to provide a service. The person concerned may wish to make a formal complaint regarding this matter to the bank in question and the Central Bank's Consumer Protection Code 2012 sets out timeframes within which a regulated entity must respond to complaints.
If a customer has made a formal complaint to the financial service provider in question and is not satisfied with the outcome, I would suggest that they make a complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman who may investigate a failure or refusal to provide a service. The Financial Services Ombudsman may investigate complaints from sole traders and limited companies with a turnover of less than €3 million a year. Investigations by the Financial Services Ombudsman are free of charge to the customer.
