Membership Rules and Guidelines

It is an independent organization. The main goal is to provide services for resolving trade disputes that have arisen. The Company is self-regulatory and is not subject to mandatory registration as an EDR in any of the available jurisdictions.

Individuals, companies and organizations whose main activities are involved in the field of financial services can become members of the Company. All members undertake to abide by the rules established by the Company.

The main pursuits are:

• Providing clients with alternative services for resolving trade disputes between Participants.
• Be the competent authority to deal with all financial disputes.
• Active assistance in resolving disputes between traders and financial service providers that are included in the list of verified members of the Company.

All received assets and income of the Company can only be used for the successful functioning of its goals and for the creation of the Compensation Fund. None of the funds received can be used indirectly or directly for other purposes, including distribution among the Company’s Participants.

The Company undertakes to use a predetermined portion of its assets and income to create a special Compensation Fund, the purpose of which is to insure claimants. The funds of the established Fund must be kept in a separate bank account. Further financing of the Fund is carried out by deductions of a fixed percentage of membership fees on a monthly basis. The Compensation Fund has the right to establish a current limit on monetary compensation per applicant and not compensate for losses exceeding it.

The Fund reserves the right to change the current limit at any time. But also undertakes to notify of any changes by publishing information on the official website.

The Company has the right to use the money of the Fund only for the satisfaction of the applicant’s complaint if the member does not fulfil its obligations in accordance with the decision of the Committee. No member has the right to claim any part of the funds in the event of termination of membership since the Compensation Fund is the property of the Company.

The Compensation Fund has the right to distribute funds aimed at satisfying the complaints of applicants at its discretion only if the funds are not enough to fully cover.

Experience in the financial services industry is obligatory criteria for each of our members. We welcome experience of 3 years or more for certification of potential brokers.

For brokers with less than 3 years of experience, there is an additional entry procedure. The Company has the right to request a minimum of two professional references from a reliable firm, its director, shareholder, or senior. These references must be from subjects whose experience in the financial services field exceeds 3 years.

The Company may have certain subcategories of membership that differ in prices, and fees, have a connection with the number of complaints to be considered, and a number of other additional services.

The Company reserves the right to impose any financial requirements for all or a specific type of membership. The Company also undertakes to notify this category of members by posting the appropriate announcement on the website.

All or a certain type of membership is required to provide the necessary reports at the request of the Company. It will notify members about such requirements by posting an announcement on the website.

When considering a complaint, the Company has the right to contact the independent finance committee if the participant has committed one of the following actions related to the financial service:

• Violated any of the terms of the agreement concluded between the Member and the Applicant regarding the provision or receipt of financial services.
• Did not follow generally accepted standards of good practice in the financial services industry.
• Has committed dishonest or unfair acts towards the plaintiff.

Each member who has passed certification and is included in the list of reliable suppliers of financial services undertakes to include the right of the client to file a complaint in their contracts.

According to the policy of the Company, each Member must have a pre-developed plan in case of unforeseen problems and restoration of business processes. It will ensure continuous work and the fastest recovery as possible, which will also positively affect the reputation of the Member.

Business continuity and disaster recovery must include the following data:

• definitions of backup facilities;
• approach for implementation of disaster recovery/business continuity strategy;
• disorders of third parties;
• annual testing;
• rules of further communication with the Company;
• third-party contact details;
• employees and emergency communication details.

The Company has the right to conduct an annual check of a member for compliance with all established rules at any time.

In case of initiating such an annual audit, the Member undertakes to cooperate with the inspection body and provide full access to the premises and employees immediately.

The Company is independent and its decisions do not depend on its members, as well as the process of their adoption.

A special committee dealing with the resolution of disputes among participants is:

• fully responsible for disseminating complaints;
• responsible only to the Board of Directors.

In turn, the Board of Directors oversees the Dispute Resolution Committee and its staff. The Board is also responsible for overseeing the Company itself and its personnel that they do not interfere in the process of considering a complaint and making a decision.

To ensure the full independence of the Company, the Council cannot include any representative of the Company in the Dispute Resolution Committee.

The Company is the sole body responsible for appointing the Dispute Resolution Committee and vesting it with the following powers:

• Verification of the jurisdiction of the received complaint, its consideration and adoption of a final decision in accordance with the established rules, as well as further making orders on the decision.
• Issue an Order for further implementation of the decision made earlier.
• Make an Award, which is a direct execution of the decision.

These rules set out the current powers, functions, and obligations of the Committee. The Board has the right to assign or delegate additional obligations to the Committee.

Immediately after receiving a complaint, the Company undertakes to verify that the complainant is indeed a client of the participating broker. And only after that, the complaint goes through the internal dispute resolution process. If the results of the review are negative, the complaint is not referred to the IDR process.

According to the IDR procedure, the period for considering a complaint should not exceed 10 days. The broker undertakes to give a proper and detailed response to the complaint within this period.

If the broker’s response did not satisfy the client, the latter has the right to file a formal complaint with the Company, and the last one initiates the work of the Dispute Resolution Committee.