For the purposes of this Regulation, words and expressions shall have the meaning assigned to, unless the context requires otherwise, as mentioned below and/or defined in other Laws and Regulations:

1. Annual Levy: Fee levied by the Ombudsman Unit on Licensed Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies on an annual basis.
    
2. Appeals Committee: A committee formed by the Ombudsman Unit for the final resolution of Complaints by the Ombudsman Unit, against the Licensed Financial Institutions.
    
3. Appeals Fee: Fee levied by the Ombudsman Unit on the appellant of a Complaint to the Appeals Committee which may, at the discretion of the Ombudsman Unit, be refunded when the Determination of the Complaint is in favor of the appellant.
    
4. Case Fee: Fee levied by the Ombudsman Unit on the Licensed Financial Institution or the Insurance Company for each Complaint closed by the Ombudsman Unit during a Financial Year (regardless of when the Complaint was referred to the Ombudsman Unit).
    
5. Central Bank: The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.
    
6. Central Bank Regulations: Any resolution, legislation, circular, rule, instruction, standard or notice issued by the Central Bank.
    
7. Complainant: A Complainant filing a Complaint shall include:
    
   1. A Consumer
       
   2. An actual or potential beneficiary
       
   3. A Person acting on behalf of the Consumer or beneficiary such as personal or legal representative, counselor, guardian, trustee, or executor.
       
8. Complaint: For the purpose of this Regulation, a Complaint shall be defined as:
    
   1. An expression of dissatisfaction by a Consumer with a product, service, policy, procedure or actions by the Licensed Financial Institution that is presented to an Employee of the Licensed Financial Institution in Writing, verbally or through other electronic means.
       
   2. An expression of dissatisfaction by a Consumer with a product, service, policy, procedure or actions by the Insurance Company that is presented to an Employee of the Insurance Company in Writing, verbally or through other electronic means.
       
   3. An expression of dissatisfaction referred to an Employee of the Ombudsman Unit in Writing, verbally or any other electronic means, by a Consumer against the response provided by a Licensed Financial Institution or an Insurance Company to a Complaint in accordance with (a) and (b) above.
       
9. Consumer: Consumer is a customer for the purpose of this Regulation. A customer:
    
   1. is any Natural Person, Sole Proprietor or Small to Medium Sized Enterprise who obtains or may prospectively obtain services and/or products from a Licensed Financial Institution, with or without charge, to satisfy his/her personal need or others’ needs.
       
   2. is any Natural Person, Sole Proprietor, Small to Medium Sized Enterprise who obtains or may prospectively obtain services and/or products from an Insurance Company, with or without charge, to satisfy his/her personal need or others’ needs.
       
10. Court: The Federal and Local Courts System of the United Arab Emirates .
     
11. Decretal Law: Decretal Federal Law No. (14) Of 2018 Regarding the Central Bank & Organization of Financial Institutions and Activities and its amendments.
     
12. Determination: A decision made by the Ombudsman Unit or the Appeals Committee or the Insurance Dispute Resolution Committee on a specific Complaint.
     
13. Financial Crime Compliance: Financial Crime Compliance is the requirement to comply with, including and not limited to, all applicable fraud, anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, sanctions, bribery and corruption laws, rules and regulations.
     
14. Financial Year: Financial Year represents a period of 12 months in which a full accounting cycle takes place .
     
15. Information: Any form of data, documents and/or electronic records .
     
16. Insurance Company: The Insurance Company incorporated in the State and the foreign Insurance Company licensed to carry out insurance activities in the State either through a branch, or through an insurance agent including Takaful insurance companies.
     
17. Licensed Financial Institutions: Banks and other Financial Institutions licensed in accordance with the provisions of the Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018, to carry on a licensed financial activity or more, including those which carry on the whole or a part of their business in compliance with the provisions of Islamic Shari’ah, and are either incorporated inside the State, or have branches, subsidiaries or representative offices inside the State .
     
18. Minority Group: A category of people who experience relative disadvantage as compared to members of a dominant social group. Minority Group membership is typically based on differences in observable characteristics or practices, such as ethnicity, race, religion or determination.
     
19. Ombudsman Unit: An independent Ombudsman Unit that enjoys independent legal personality, and to confer its powers and functions; to provide for a complaint process and resolutions mechanism.
     
20. Chief Ombudsman: The Person appointed by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank to be the Chief Ombudsman, to manage and direct the day-to-day operations and affairs of the Ombudsman Unit.
     
21. People of Determination: A person suffering from a temporary or permanent, full or partial deficiency or infirmity in his physical, sensory, mental, communicational, educational or psychological abilities to an extent that limits his possibility of performing the ordinary requirements.
     
22. Person: A natural or juridical Person, as the case may be .
     
23. Small to Medium Sized Enterprises: For the purposes of this Regulation, the words and acronym SME includes small, micro and medium businesses, provided that the businesses meet the thresholds of employee headcount and turnover, as defined by the Federal Cabinet Resolution No. 22 of 2016 which sets out the Small to Medium sized Enterprise definition for the purposes of Federal Law No. 2 of 2014 or any subsequent amendments to the Federal laws defining a SME:
     
    1. Medium Enterprise: Trading Sector 51 – 200 employees; or < AED 250 million annual revenues; Manufacturing Sector 101 – 250 employees; or < AED 250 million annual revenues; Service Sector 51 – 200 employees; or < AED 200 million annual revenues.
        
    2. Micro Enterprise: Trading Sector < 5 employees; or < AED 3 million annual revenues; Manufacturing Sector < 9 employees; or < AED 3 million annual revenues; Service Sector < 5 employees; or < AED 2 million annual revenues.
        
    3. Small Enterprise: Trading Sector 6 – 50 employees; or < AED 50 million annual revenues; Manufacturing Sector 10 – 100 employees; or < AED 50 million annual revenues; Service Sector 6 - 50 employees; or < AED 20 million annual revenues.
        
24. Staff of the Ombudsman Unit: One or more employee(s) of the Ombudsman Unit acting in any official capacity for or on behalf of the Ombudsman Unit.
     
25. Standards: Any Standards adopted from time to time, including performance Standards, rules, codes of behavior and conflict of interests, and procedural guidelines for the handling and resolution of Complaints / disputes.
     
26. State: The United Arab Emirates.
     
27. Supplementary Levy: Fee levied by the Ombudsman Unit on Licensed Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies to supplement the costs of establishing and the continued operation of Ombudsman Unit in the event the Annual Levy and Case Fee are insufficient to meet the objectives of Ombudsman Unit .
     
28. Terms of Reference: A document prepared by the Ombudsman Unit and approved by the Board of the Ombudsman Unit, that shall provide the governance structure of the Ombudsman Unit, the roles and responsibilities of different departments, the Complaints management framework that shall be followed by the Ombudsman Unit and the principal powers and duties of the Ombudsman Unit.
     
29. Third Party: Any Person, group of Persons or organization external to, and not a related party to, the Ombudsman Unit.
     
30. Writing: For any requirement of communications and signatories, declarations, consents, agreements or other instruments/requirements in Writing, for the sake of clarity, these terms apply to electronic, digital and paper based insofar an Electronic Document or Record satisfies the requirement of the provision of Federal Decree Law No. (46) of 2021 regarding the Electronic Transactions and Trust Services .
     
31. Year: The Gregorian calendar Year.