Regulation
Crypto Companies Must Provide Timely Customer Service
New York’s financial regulator has introduced new customer service guidelines for cryptocurrency companies.
The new directions announced by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) requires that these companies follow “effective” policies and procedures to promptly resolve customer service issues, and that they collect relevant data to ensure that these companies resolve complaints in a fair and timely manner.
“Consumers are entitled to a transparent and timely process for resolving complaints and answering questions, regardless of the company or product in question,” said DFS Superintendent. Adrienne Harris said in a Thursday (May 30) Press release. “These guidelines set clear expectations for a positive customer experience that benefits both consumers and businesses. »
The regulator expects crypto companies to follow “generally effective policies and procedures,” such as giving customers both a telephone and electronic mechanism to submit inquiries and complaints, according to the release.
Additionally, businesses must offer regular updates and estimated resolution times to the customer, thereby empowering them to stay informed about the status of their request or complaint, “and providing an explanation when the outcome of a problem is less than expected.” the customer was looking for,” DFS said.
The new guidance comes at a time when, as PYMNTS wrote earlier this month, crypto is trying to make deeper inroads in the world of traditional finance.
“The big banks and financial institutions are much more interested today than they were certainly five or six years ago, when we deployed certain products for the first time,” Brooks Entwistlesenior vice president of global customer success and general manager at Ripple, told PYMNTS last fall. “In the beginning, you probably almost never saw the conference room when discussing the topic of blockchain and especially cryptography.”
And this receptivity impacts the entire market. For example, online brokerage Robinhood Markets recently announced quarterly profits that exceeded expectationsfueled by high crypto transaction volumes.
At the same time, Robinhood faces challenges in the form of a Wells notice of Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), a signal of potential enforcement action against the company and something that raises concerns about the future of the company’s crypto trading arm.
“This appears to illustrate the state of the crypto industry in 2024: two steps forward and three steps back,” PYMNTS wrote. “Or maybe it’s the other way around – only time will tell.”