Providing a professional human telephone response

Banking Supervision Department
Bank-Customer Division
November 30, 2025
Circular-C-06-2834
Attn: The banking corporations
Re: Providing a professional human telephone response (Proper Conduct of Banking Business Directive No. 426) Introduction

1. Due to numerous cases of fraud in bank accounts and via means of payment as
   defined in the Payment Services Law, 5779-2019, (hereinafter, “the Payment Services Law”, and in view of the need by customers who suspect fraud as noted, to report it immediately to the banking corporation and to receive its assistance to prevent or to reduce the adverse impact that can be caused due to the fraud, a professional human telephone response was required, which will be available for such requests constantly.
2. The update of this Directive establishes a requirement to provide customers with
   access to a professional human telephone response service in cases involving suspected fraud in payment services and for reporting concerns regarding unauthorized or improper use, in accordance with the Payment Services Law. The service shall be available to the public on a continuous basis, and, as a general rule, the waiting time shall not exceed six minutes from the commencement of the call.
3. This regulatory measure is accompanied by the publication of a Regulatory Impact
   Assessment Report pursuant to the Regulatory Principles Law, 5782-2021, which is being published concurrently with this Directive. The effectiveness of this regulation and of the fraud hotline shall be reviewed in accordance with Section 36 of that Law no later than three years after the effective date of this amendment. Accordingly, a dedicated reporting requirement on this matter will also be established.
4. Following consultation with the Advisory Committee on Banking Business Affairs,
   and with the approval of the Governor, I hereby issue this Directive. Main points of this Directive
5. Section 3(a) was revised in order to align it with the definition of “banking
   corporation” according to the Banking (Service to the Customer) Law, 5741-1981.
6. Section 5 of the Directive will be denoted as 5(a), followed by new Subsection (b),
   which determines that a banking corporation shall provide a professional human telephone response with regard to concern of fraud in payment services, and with regard to reporting concerns regarding unauthorized or improper use, in accordance with the Payment Service Law. The service shall be available to the public on a constant basis.

Explanatory notes
There is great importance in providing customers with access to a professional human telephone response service for reporting suspected fraud involving a payment account or a means of payment, as well as for submitting notices in accordance with the Payment Services Law. This is in order to enable customers to report a fraud incident immediately to a qualified employee, or to consult with such an employee regarding a suspected fraud incident, so that appropriate action may be taken to prevent or mitigate any damage that may result from the fraudulent activity. This requirement also derives from Section 24(e) of the Payment Services Law, 5779-2019. Such service must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including during weekly rest periods, in order to minimize, to the extent possible under the circumstances, any harm to the customer's property. A banking corporation may incorporate this service in the call center established under Section 5(a) of the Directive or may establish a separate dedicated call center. In this context, Proper Conduct of Banking Business Directive No. 501, “Management of Customer Service and Support Systems”, emphasizes, among other things, the maintenance of a customer service and support framework that ensures the provision of adequate services and support tailored to customers' needs. As an example of adapting services to customer needs, service should be made available, among other languages, in Russian, given that fraud incidents are particularly prevalent among Russian￾speaking customers. It should be clarified that nothing herein is intended to prevent banking corporations from also providing digital channels through which customers may submit notifications. Such channels are encouraged, as they provide an effective solution for customers with digital literacy. For the avoidance of doubt, it is further clarified that the provisions of Sections 7 and 8 of the Directive also apply to telephone services relating to fraud-related matters.
7. A new Section 6A shall be added following Section 6.
Explanatory remarks
As a general rule, the waiting time for customers reporting suspected fraud to receive assistance from a human representative shall not exceed six minutes, except in exceptional circumstances specifically permitted under the Directive, consistent with the waiting-time standard established in Section 5A(3) of the Banking (Service to Customer) Law, 5741-1981. Accordingly, the percentage of fraud-related calls in which the waiting time to receive assistance from a qualified human representative exceeds six minutes from the commencement of the call shall not exceed 15 percent of all fraud-related calls received during a calendar month. For those calls in which the waiting time exceeds six minutes from the commencement of the call, the average waiting time to receive assistance from a qualified human representative shall not exceed eight minutes from the commencement of the call, measured on a calendar-month basis and throughout all service operating hours.

In view of the importance of this matter, a banking corporation shall make its utmost efforts to ensure that customers receive assistance as promptly as possible. For the avoidance of doubt, in light of the importance of this matter, a banking corporation shall make its utmost efforts to ensure that responses are provided as promptly as possible.
8. Commencement date
The starting date for the amendments noted in this directive is until May 31, 2026.
9. File update
Following are the update pages for the Proper Conduct of Banking Business Directive file. Following are the directives of the update:
Remove pages Insert pages
(03/23)-[4]-426-1-3 (11/25) [5] 426-1-3
Respectfully,
Daniel Hahiashvili
Supervisor of Banks