Financial Services Arbiter Records 350 Complaints in 2025

The Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services published its Annual Report 2025 on Wednesday 8 July 2026, recording 350 complaints for the year, a 39% increase from 251 in 2024 and 918 enquiries and minor cases, up 16.1% year-over-year. Arbiter Alfred Mifsud called 2025 "a year of record numbers." The Office issued 192 final decisions in 2025, more than double the 94 issued in 2024, with decisions delivered within an average of 42 calendar days of the final hearing or final submissions.

Of these, 150 complaints were not upheld, 37 were partially upheld and five were upheld in full. Across 39 decisions, the Office awarded €253,000 in total compensation, with the highest individual award reaching €27,000. Eleven decisions, representing 6% of the total, were subsequently appealed — down from 7% in 2024 and 12% in 2023.

Five cases went before the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction), which largely confirmed the Arbiter's rulings. 131 complaints were resolved through mediation, settlement or withdrawal in 2025, with 81 closed during the mediation process itself. Also in 2025, the Office abolished its €25 complaint fee, making the service free for complainants and financial services providers alike.

Fraud complaints formed the largest single category handled in 2025. The two dominant types involved fraudsters posing as banks in fake message alerts and pig butchering scams, in which victims are cultivated over time before being manipulated into transferring large sums. In February 2025, the Office published a technical note setting out how such complaints should be assessed and where financial services providers could strengthen practices.

A national survey commissioned by the Office, covering 600 respondents aged 16 and over, found that 58.5% had been targeted by a financial scam. Only 10.1% of those who lost money brought their case to the Arbiter; of those who did not, 58.1% said they were unaware the Office existed. Legislative changes that took effect on 1 October 2025 broadened the definition of an eligible customer, allowing fraud victims to lodge complaints even without a direct contractual relationship with the financial services provider that processed their payment, though providers can only be held responsible for their own failings.

The expanded jurisdiction applies to transactions processed on or after that date. The Office is also working with police and Malta's financial regulator on a national payment fraud awareness campaign scheduled to launch in 2026. Every Friday, the Office publishes summaries of decisions and consumer lessons via social and traditional media.