How to Master the Customer Service Experience at CySEC regulated entities

The Customer Service department is one of the key units of a company in the investment services industry. Having a well-designed Customer Service Department can inspire customer and brand loyalty. The Customer Service department within a Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) is responsible for providing fair and clear information about financial products and services to clients while maintaining a strong compliance culture.

Throughout this blog post, the Institute’s instructor, Eliana Hadjimichael, introduces you to the important duties and responsibilities of the Customer Service department, the Customer Service best practices and the Customer Service role in maintaining compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations and Complaint Handling procedures.

At the end of the post, Eliana provides a comprehensive outline of the information gained in this area by the completion of her Mastering the Customer Service Experience course, available through the IforPE platform.

 
What are the key duties and responsibilities of the Customer Service department?

Customer Service (CS) is a department which is responsible for communicating with clients daily and providing information on the investment and ancillary services and the financial instruments offered by the CIF and Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) regulated entities.

The CS department’s main responsibility is to effectively handle existing and potential clients through chat, phone, and email communication. Customer Service agents are required to possess important knowledge and competence to efficiently manage beginner, advanced and professional clients. Furthermore, Customer Service agents are responsible for resolving trading and technical issues, collecting and evaluating customer feedback, and handling client complaints.

Customer Service Best Practices

To achieve exceptional Customer Service, CS agents need to:

• Know the product
• Know the client
• Deliver a personalized and customized service
• Maintain clear record keeping
• Ensure a strong compliance culture

What is the role of Customer Service in complaint handling?

The CS department is responsible for informing the Compliance Officer of all complaints received through CS. The Customer Service Manager could be appointed to monitor and report complaints to the Compliance Officer and shall keep records of all complaints to ensure effective communication with the Compliance department. To proactively avoid complaints, CS needs to always go the extra mile in providing accurate information about all the products and services of the CIF and clearly explain the procedures and guidelines to always ensure transparency.

The responsibilities of CS in AML regulations

All Customer Service agents need to know the role of the AML Compliance Officer to whom they report any information or suspicion regarding money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF). Furthermore, CS agents need to be able to recognize and flag activities and transactions related to ML/TF. Also, CS agents need to effectively handle situations when they are asked by the Compliance Officer to communicate with clients to assess and obtain information about the purpose of the business relationship the client wants to establish with the company.

What is the Mastering the Customer Service Experience course and what does it include?

The Mastering the Customer Service Experience course has been developed and delivered by Eliana Hadjimichael, a Senior Customer Service Specialist at a leading online CFD broker.