Newsletter

We publish a newsletter for our stakeholders three times annually—in April, August, and December. This electronic publication features informative interviews, updates on legislation and other relevant developments, case summaries, and the latest news about our office and its staff.  If you would like to receive our newsletter and periodic updates about our work, please follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Issue 5 (August 2025)

Key highlights

• The Arbiter’s caseload continued to rise for the first seven months of the year, with 184 new complaints and 79 decisions issued. Only nine cases were appealed, with outcomes still pending. Most complaints concerned scam-related payments via banks and non-bank providers, undervalued life insurance maturities, and serious concerns about fraud involving licensed cryptocurrency service providers. 
• A comprehensive nationwide study, commissioned by the OAFS, has thrown light on the impact of financial scams in Malta.  We highlight some key findings from this survey. 
• The 2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the OAFS have been published.
• A selection of five consumer-focused ‘Lessons Learned’ on Facebook covering ‘pig butchering’ scams, a financial scam involving a hotel booking, online banking fraud and travel insurance.
• A selection of five case summaries on LinkedIn examining crypto investment, travel insurance, life insurance, banking and pension investments.
• More content is being shared on Instagram to give the audience easy-to-follow summaries of decisions by the Arbiter for Financial Services. These cases touch on everyday areas like banking, corporate services, car and life insurance.

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Previous issues

Issue 4 (April 2025) includes:

• A word from the Arbiter on the Office's activities in Q1 2025
• Five consumer-focused 'Lessons Learned' covering life insurance premiums, fraud via SMS, high-yield bond investments, crypto asset investing, and invoice scams
• Five case summaries examining banking fraud, corporate services provider negligence, life insurance policy disputes, travel insurance claims, and cryptocurrency scams
• Court of Appeal review substantially upholding the Arbiter's decision in an investment mis-selling case.

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Issue 3 (December 2024) includes:

• Five detailed case studies examining: unauthorised payments, corporate fund transfers, life insurance maturity payouts, medical expenses claims and payment account blocking.
• Two Court of Appeal decision reviewed.
• Five consumer-focused 'Lessons Learned' covering: fraudulent payment prevention, life policy management, AI investment platform fraud, crypto asset investing guidance and invoice scam protection.
• Two educational videos addressing scam awareness.

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Issue 2 (August 2024) includes: 

• A note from the Arbiter for Financial Services, Mr Alfred Mifsud;
• Four case summaries, covering banking transactions, a corporate services provider,  a life insurance policy and a personal retirement scheme; and
• Five Lessons Learned, leveraging the Arbiter’s decisions from a consumer perspective. These covered personal and invoice scams, investment advice, ATM deposits and crypto asset investing.

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Issue 1 (April 2024) includes:

• an interview with the Arbiter for Financial Services, Mr Alfred Mifsud;
• four case summaries, covering travel insurance, a retirement scheme, a bank transfer and a purchase order for shares;
• nine takeaways from decisions of the Arbiter following the publication of a new framework Model for Allocation of Responsibility between Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and Payment Services Users (PSUs) in case of payment fraud scams; and
• amendments to the Arbiter for Financial Services Act.