Fidrec extends jurisdiction to include claims from small businesses and charities from July

[SINGAPORE] The Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (Fidrec) is extending its jurisdiction to include small businesses and charities from Tuesday (Jul 1).

This comes after the organisation’s 2024 public consultation displayed strong support for making it accessible to small businesses. This is aligned with Singapore’s broader push to strengthen support for small businesses and build a more resilient non-profit sector.

With this move, over 200,000 small businesses and 2,000 charities who have disputes arising on or after Jul 1 against licensed financial institutions subscribed to Fidrec can bring their unresolved disputes to the organisation.

Fidrec will now also handle a broader range of claims which include:

• Disputes over employee medical insurance claims

• Insurance claims involving company-owned vehicles

• Issues with business banking services and corporate card accounts

• Loan agreement-related disputes

Eunice Chua, chief executive officer of Fidrec, said: “Small businesses and charities in Singapore face mounting challenges in today’s volatile global economy. We recognise that managing financial disputes on top of day-to-day operations can be overwhelming, and that these organisations are akin to individual consumers in their ability to deal with financial disputes.”

For the banking sector, Ong-Ang Ai Boon, director of The Association of Banks in Singapore, said that Fidrec’s expansion to include small businesses and charities is “a welcomed move.”

“These segments, which often rely on banking services, now have greater access to fair and independent dispute resolution, further strengthening confidence in the broader financial ecosystem,” she said.

Fidrec’s jurisdiction, including the definition of an “eligible complainant”, is governed by its Terms of Reference, as set out in section six of the Financial Services and Markets (Dispute Resolution Schemes) Regulations 2023.