|By TAP Staff| The UAE Banks Federation proposes to soon issue a charter for customer rights, which will incorporate certain minimum standards in banking services and provide for remedial actions open for them in case of failures by the banks.
The CEOs Advisory Committee of the Federation has examined the framework and content of the charter at its first meeting this year.
The meeting reviewed the Federation’s support for the Debt Settlement Fund, preparations for the introduction of the Al Etihad Credit Bureau and progress on the implementation of the Smart Goverment Initiative and Banks’ Code of Conduct, in addition to other key issues and strategic plans for the year.
On the Debt Settlement Fund, the Council reaffirmed its full support for the government’s initiative to alleviate the debt burden of certain UAE nationals, and acknowledged the efforts already made by member banks to contribute to the scheme. The Council also recognised the importance of efforts by its member banks to encourage financial literacy and responsibility programmes to their clients to prevent such debts recurring in the future.
The panel agreed to regularly review the Code of Conduct for the banks issued by the Federation in 2013 and reviewed concrete measures and progress achieved by the federation steering committee to implement the Smart Government Initiative launched last year to ensure services from all government bodies are automated through state of the art technology platforms. The financial component of the initiative is to be rolled out over the coming year, which will allow citizens and residents of the UAE as well as visitors to purchase goods and services through the use of their smart phones and other digital devices.