Issues and Disputes

This section provides guidance on issues and disputes, including customer complaints and infrastructural failures. TPPs should incorporate these into their operational capability.

Maintaining the highest standards of service delivery, even when problems occur, is critical to provide a good customer experience and a well-functioning open banking ecosystem.

Current Issues Status

To share known issues with Participants, a public facing page can be found here:

https://openbanking.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DZ/pages/504496461/Current+Issues

As part of our continuous improvement initiative we are automating this page. Information will not be shared without the ticket owner’s permission.

ASPSP Issues: Downtime

OBIE operates a public facing ‘downtime’ page which can be found here:

https://openbanking.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DZ/pages/441614754/API+Downtime

It is populated automatically from content provided by Participants. Participants record planned and unplanned downtime, including intermittency. We conduct and end of month reconciliation on downtime tickets raised and availability MI provided by ASPSPs.

Issue Resolution

There are effectively two routes to issue and incident management:

Internal OBIE Incident Management

To raise an issue with OBIE directly, use the Jira Service Desk Process. This process is explained in greater detail in this PDF

https://standards.openbanking.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Jira-Service-Desk-Guide.pdf

External ASPSP Incident Management

An issue with an ASPSP or TPP should be raised directly with that Participant using the channels they make available.

Parallel Reporting

Under some circumstances it is appropriate to raise a parallel ticket with OB (using the process referred to above). These tickets should mirror the ticket raised directly, so that we have visibility of progress.

The circumstances under which parallel tickets are appropriate include:

• The topic is of general interest to open banking.
• The topic may be of general interest to other Participants. For example: an error reported by one Participant, could also be experienced by others. OBIE’s analysis and reporting can identify the potential impact of such issues and coordinate joint resolution.
• OBIE’s support is required to help achieve resolution when:
  • Technical engagement is key.
  • The Participants are not successfully engaging in an acceptable timescale.
  • The issue is urgent, like an ASPSP’s end points are down.

Service Requests

OBIE have recently extended ticket types to include Conformance Certifications and Known ASPSP Issues. A service request can be made through the Open Banking Service Desk https://openbanking.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/1.

When using the OBIE Service Desk to communicate with other participants and raising, TPP must ensure that they do not share customer personal data or any data which may be considered confidential or commercially sensitive.

The ticket types for this are listed below:-

• Access request:  For Confluence and other services.
• General query:  Information requests about the open banking ecosystem.
• Incident:  Report an issue.
• Known ASPSP Issues:  Report a known ASPSP issue.
• API Downtime:  For reporting API downtime.
• Conformance certification:  If you are an enrolled ASPSP and have signed T&Cs.
• Premium API Submission:  To submit a request.
• Programme Management Change Request (PMG):  To raise a change request relating to CMA Amended Order/Roadmap and / or related artefacts.

Customer Enquiry, Complaint and Dispute Process

Customers that engage in any open banking enabled transactions such as account information services (AISPs) and payment initiation (PISPs)l may inevitably have enquiries, complaints and disputes particularly when an issue arises as a result of the transaction.

In this scenario, the customer may choose to contact the TPP or Account Servicing Payment Service Provider (ASPSP) to address their case, however, the said TPP or ASPSP may not have all the required information in hand to assist the customer. In this instance, it may be necessary for the TPP or ASPSP to need to connect to request or exchange information in the interest of supporting the customer. TPPs and ASPSPs are encouraged to engage via the OBIE Dispute Management System (DMS) platform.

The DMS platform forms part of a wider solution offered by OBIE to enable TPPs and ASPSPs to securely connect with one another, not least of which with the CMA9, and case manage the customer’s matter from initiation to arriving at a conclusion.

Should the customer be dissatisfied with the outcome presented to them, the TPP or ASPSP interfacing with the customer may be able to refer the customer to the financial ombudsman service (FOS), alternative dispute resolution (ADR) or in some cases, to litigation.

Operational Excellence: Dispute Management

The DMS  enables TPPs and ASPSPs who have received a customer enquiry, complaint or dispute from engaging in open banking enabled payment or account information services to connect, share information and drive the case to an outcome for the customer.

DMS itself cannot solve the customer issue but it does provide a safe and secure tool by which members can connect to share information and provide a speedy and successful outcome for their mutual customer. It is up to the members themselves to make every effort to share information on a timely basis to maximise the likelihood of a successful customer journey. Using the platform as intended and adhering to the DMS Code of Good Practice can assist members in reaching the best outcome for the customer. 

Introduction

DMS 2.0 is a managed service that offers all regulated entities a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution comprised of:

• A case management workflow tool (“DMS 2.0 platform”) for organisations signed up for DMS to manage customer cases from creation to outcome;
• Ability to securely share customer evidence and sensitive information in the DMS platform to drive cases to an outcome
• Access to a network of other TPPs and ASPSPs to collaborate or obtain information to support the customer case
• Reporting that provides management information and insight into the cases raised and managed within the DMS 2.0 platform

The DMS 2.0 platform is designed to be self-serving so users can access and perform all functions offered by the platform on their own. The platform will not be monitored by OBIE; however  it encourages operational excellence through promotion of the DMS Code of Good Practice, provision of frequently asked questions, training videos for those new to the platform and other useful information stored in a dedicated DMS Confluence page. 

Dispute Management: Sign up and Manage Account

To become a member of DMS or to change the details previously used to sign up, please refer to the DMS website: https://www.openbanking.org.uk/providers/dispute-management-system/

Dispute Management: Code of Good Practice

All members signed-up to the DMS platform are required to acknowledge the DMS Code of Good Practice encouraging users to be responsible, transparent and supportive of other members of the DMS platform.

The Code of Good Practice can be found in the dedicated DMS Confluence page.

Dispute Management: Confluence Page

For more information about the DMS, please login to Open Banking Confluence where you can find a dedicated DMS page and access:

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
• Training videos.
• Other information such as technical readiness guide, data protection, information security.
• Announcements.