Submitting complaints

You can submit a complaint to Banca d'Italia:

  • free of charge
  • independently, without the help of a lawyer or a professional person
  • easily and quickly on the 'Online Services' platform

Warning (for reports filed with the Central Credit Register)

Banca d'Italia cannot correct the data transmitted to the Central Credit Register (Centrale dei Rischi, CR). Reporting institutions, such as banks and financial intermediaries, must be contacted directly to request the correction of inaccurate data. If the reporting institutions fail to respond or provide an unsatisfactory reply, a complaint may be submitted to Banca d'Italia using the Online Services for the Public platform, specifying the institutions whose reports are disputed and the reasons for the dispute. Upon receipt of the complaint, Banca d'Italia will ask the reporting institutions to verify the data transmitted and, if there is an error, to correct it.

Why you can submit a complaint to Banca d'Italia

Complaints are a listening channel and contribute to Banca d'Italia's consumer protection work. Analysing the complaints received help in identifying specific consumer protection needs, and improve the information available to Banca d'Italia for its supervision activities. Complaints can also reveal gaps in the legislation and aspects of it that can be improved, as well as topics that need to be covered by financial education initiatives to raise the level of customers' awareness regarding banking and financial services. A complaint is not a tool for requesting a consultation, an opinion or an interpretation of legislation.

Another fundamental channel for listening and for monitoring the main problems experienced by customers is the continuous dialogue with the consumer associations that belong to the Consiglio Nazionale dei Consumatori e degli Utenti (National Council for Users and Consumers, CNCU).

Banca d'Italia reports on its management of complaints by providing a general account of the analyses carried out in its 'Activity and Sustainability Report', and more detailed information in its 'Report on the management of complaints from customers of banks and financial companies'.

What it is

A complaint is a written communication sent to Banca d'Italia in which a customer or another interested party can report:

  • conduct on the part of banks and supervised financial intermediaries which they deem to be irregular or wrong;
  • errors in the information held in the Central Credit Register (CR) or in the Interbank Register of Bad Cheques and Payment Cards (CAI).

Submitting a complaint does not start an administrative proceeding, as governed by Law 241/1990.

What Banca d'Italia does when it receives a complaint

When Banca d'Italia receives a complaint:

  • it usually involves the intermediary concerned by sending a copy of the complaint and inviting it to look at what has been reported and to respond to the customer, thereby encouraging dialogue between the parties;
  • it responds directly to the person who submitted the complaint, providing them with a clearer understanding of the issues raised;
  • it gathers information useful for carrying out its regulatory and control functions and for financial education and, more generally speaking, for customer protection.

When Banca d'Italia receives complaints that do not fall under its remit, it sends them to the competent authority or organization, if they are not already involved. It informs the customer that it has done so or invites the complainant to send their complaint directly to the competent authority or organization.

What Banca d'Italia cannot do when it receives a complaint

It is important to know that Banca d'Italia:

  • does not make any decision concerning the contractual relations between an intermediary and a customer, as the Banking and Financial Ombudsman (ABF) can for example, nor does it make any evaluation of decisions that individual intermediaries make autonomously, such as granting a loan;
  • does not inform individual customers of the results of any supervisory action or investigations involving intermediaries;
  • does not usually respond to complaints on issues already submitted to the judicial authorities;
  • does not take into consideration generic or incomplete complaints, nor does it consider reports on previously submitted cases unless there are significant new elements.

Who can use this service

A customer of a bank or of another financial intermediary, duly registered on the Supervisory registers and lists, who wants to report irregular or unfair behaviour concerning banking operations, products and services or to dispute a report made by a bank or financial institution to the Central Credit Register (CR) or in the Interbank Register of Bad Cheques and Payment Cards (CAI).

It is useful to know that banks, financial companies and payment card issuers are responsible for the accuracy of reports sent to the CR and the CAI, and customers can contact them directly to ask for any mistakes to be rectified. If Banca d'Italia is informed about any errors in the data collected, it asks banks, financial companies and payment card issuers to check and correct such data.

As of 8 March 2025, with the transposition of Directive (EU) 2021/2167, debtors whose non-performing loans have been sold to third parties can submit a complaint concerning credit purchasers, credit servicers and credit service providers. In all these cases, Banca d'Italia sends a copy of the complaint to the credit servicer and invites the intermediary to look at the report and respond to the customer, thereby encouraging dialogue between the parties.

How to submit a complaint

The Online services portal is available for submitting a complaint to Banca d'Italia: all you have to do is click on the 'File a complaint' tab and follow the prompts that make it easy, secure and quick to fill out the form. You can access the service via a smartphone, tablet or personal computer.

The portal sends the complaint directly to the competent Banca d'Italia branch office, thus speeding up the analysis and handling processes. As of 13 April 2026, the portal will be the only online channel available for submitting:

  • requests for access to the Credit Register (CR);
  • requests for access to the Central Interbank Alarm Register (CAI);
  • complaints regarding issues encountered by the public in their dealings with banks and financial intermediaries.

After April 13 it will still be possible to submit a complaint via:

  • ordinary mail;
  • fax;
  • hand delivery.

In these cases, the complaint must be sent or delivered to the Banca d'Italia branch competent for the intermediary concerned. To identify the competent Branch, you can consult the Supervisory registers and lists. The branch is listed on the 'Competenza sugli esposti' line under the 'Vigilance Skills' tab of the details on the individual intermediary.

To submit a complaint, you should:

  • indicate the intermediary or intermediaries involved, if known;
  • describe briefly and clearly, detailing as necessary, the conduct that you believe to be irregular or unfair, and your requests.
  • Identify yourself:
    • For complaints relating to the Central Credit Register (CR) and to the Interbank Register of Bad Cheques and Payment Cards (CAI): identify yourself by using your SPID (Public Digital Identity System), a certified electronic signature, your CIE (electronic identity card) or by submitting a legible copy of a valid identity document with a signed copy of the relative request. Alternatively, you can use a certified email address (PEC), and attach a legible copy of a valid identity document.
    • For complaints relating to banking and financial services: you do not need to 'certify' your identity and sign it; you just need to provide enough information to allow the complaint to be processed. On the Online Services platform, if you do not use SPID, CIE or a certified electronic signature, you just need to enter your personal details manually.

Banca d'Italia does not consider the following to be complaints: requests for data, information and advice, and quesiti normativi ('questions on laws and regulations' - only in Italian).

For further information on submitting a complaint, customers can also call this toll-free number: 800-196969.

The offices of Banca d'Italia responsible for coordinating the management of complaints are:

  • The Consumer Protection Directorate, for complaints concerning behaviour on the part of banks and financial institutions that a customer deems to be irregular or unfair;
  • The Retail Payment Instruments and Services Directorate, for complaints concerning irregularities in the information held in the Interbank Register of Bad Cheques and Payment Cards (CAI);
  • The Statistical Data Collection and Processing Directorate, for complaints concerning irregularities in the information held in the Central Credit Register (CR).

Addresses

Consumer Protection Directorate
Via del Traforo, 146, 00187 Rome
Certified email address (PEC): tuc@pec.bancaditalia.it

Retail Payment Instruments and Services Directorate
Via Nazionale 75, 00184 Rome
Certified email address (PEC): ssd@pec.bancaditalia.it

Statistical Data Collection and Processing Directorate
Largo Guido Carli 1, 00044 Frascati
Certified email address (PEC): res@pec.bancaditalia.it

Useful information

If there is a problem with a bank or a financial intermediary, the first thing to do is to contact them directly, submitting a complaint in which you point out irregular or unfair conduct or an omission to an intermediary in written form (e.g. a letter, fax or e-mail). Information on contact details and how to submit a complaint is usually available on the institution's website. The complaint may lead to a solution to the problem and to your requests being met.

Every intermediary is obliged to have a person or office tasked with managing complaints that must respond to the customer within 60 days of receiving a complaint relating to banking operations and services. The period is reduced to 15 business days for responses to complaints concerning payment services.

To protect your rights, you can also:

  • contact one of the alternative dispute settlement systems provided for by law, such as the (ABF);
  • contact the judicial authorities.

The ABF is an alternative dispute resolution system for financial intermediaries and their customers. If the complaint falls within the jurisdiction of the ABF, it can be dealt with swiftly and at a low cost (€20). Information on how the system works and how to submit a complaint is available on the ABF's website.

Data protection and artificial intelligence

In July 2021, we started using an artificial intelligence (AI) system to handle complaints from users reporting issues with banks and financial intermediaries.

This AI system helps us to quickly detect the most frequent complaints and to improve our protection strategy. We regularly update the system to make it more effective.

You should be aware that we do not use AI to carry out automated evaluations that might affect people's rights, nor do we profile users who submit complaints (i.e. we do not collect and process data on complainants to divide them into groups based on their behaviour).

Data are processed confidentially. The Bank complies with a Regulation on the use of AI published on its website (as well as in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic General Series No. 75 of 30 March 2022).

We do not disclose any of the information and data processed by the AI system outside the Bank. However, we do send a copy of the complaint to the intermediaries involved, as explained in the previous section 'How Banca d'Italia processes complaints'.

Sezione di approfondimento

Related Topics

  • Branches

    Banca d'Italia operates throughout the country via its branches located in the regional capitals and in some provincial capitals.

  • Internal and external whistleblowing reports

    Employees and consultants of a financial intermediary supervised by Banca d'Italia, as well as other individuals, may report any regulatory violations and misconduct in management by following a few simple rules.

  • Appeal to the Banking and Financial Ombudsman

    The Banking and Financial Ombudsman (ABF) is an alternative dispute resolution system for customer complaints about banks and other financial intermediaries.