Banca d’Italia Reclami Return: Circolare 217 Voce 52430
Twice a year every payment and e-money institution supervised in Italy tells the Banca d’Italia how many complaints it received, how each one ended and where the customer sits, and most of the errors are made long before anyone opens the reporting file. The count lives in Circolare n. 217 of 5 August 1996, the manual for the supervisory returns of financial intermediaries, payment institutions (IP) and e-money institutions (IMEL). Since the 22nd update of 2 November 2022 it sits in its own sub-section, II.16 Relazioni con la clientela, next to data on refunds, unilateral contract changes, account switching and disputed payments. This guide covers what the complaints voce asks for, who files it, the calendar, and how it ties into the complaints rules in Section XI of the Bank’s transparency provisions.
1. What the return is
Circolare 217 is organised by section. Section II, Altre informazioni, holds the non-balance-sheet data. The 22nd update created sub-section 16 in it to gather information on customer protection, banking transparency and the rights and obligations of the parties to payment services. The update moved voce 52430 Numero di reclami ricevuti into the new sub-section from sub-section II.9, where it had sat among the supplementary data, and added a breakdown by the counterparty’s province.
The changes took effect on 1 January 2023. The Bank’s enactment act set 25 September 2023 as the deadline for the first II.16 submission. The two refund voci, 52543 and 52545, started a year later, from 1 January 2024, with a first deadline of 25 July 2024. The 23rd update of 28 November 2023 left II.16 unchanged.
This statistical return is neither the public complaints report the transparency provisions require nor an ABF filing, but all three draw on the same register and should agree.
2. Who files it
The General Warnings to Circolare 217 list the reporting population: Italian financial intermediaries, IPs and IMELs, plus the Italian branches of IPs and IMELs authorised elsewhere in the EU and the central contact points of EU IPs and IMELs that operate in Italy through agents.
- Italian IPs and IMELs send sub-sections II.12 (payment services and e-money) and II.16, plus any other Section II voci their business requires.
- Italian branches and contact points of EU IPs and IMELs send selected II.12 voci and all of sub-section II.16, on the same timetable as Italian IPs and IMELs (paragraph 2.3 of the General Warnings).
Outsourcing does not change the obligation. The voce 52430 instructions say it must be reported even by intermediaries that have outsourced complaint handling to a third party. Whoever runs your queue, the count is yours.
3. The voci in sub-section II.16
Every voce in the sub-section is half-yearly. The complaints count is the best known, but it is not the only one a payment firm will have data for.
| Voce | What it counts | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| 52430 | Complaints received in the period | Outcome: accolti (upheld), accolti parzialmente (partly upheld), non accolti (rejected), in istruttoria (under review); subject of complaint; counterparty province |
| 52541 | Complaints handled beyond the maximum reply times in Section XI, paragraph 3, of the transparency provisions | Banking and credit services vs payment services |
| 52543 / 52545 | Refunds paid, or still to pay, for improper charges | By product (including payment accounts and payment services) and by type of refund; then by province |
| 52549 | Unilateral changes to contract terms that are unfavourable to the customer | By product, effective date and sequence number of the change |
| 52553 / 52555 | Payment-account switching requests, and compensation paid in switching | As receiving or transferring provider; on time, late, refused, under review |
| 52558 / 52559 | Basic payment accounts held, and requests to open them | Residents of Italy, other EU, non-EU |
| 52563 | Customer requests disputing unauthorised payment transactions | Fully accepted, partly accepted, refused; number and amount |
Two of these sit close to the complaints count and are easy to confuse with it. Voce 52541 is a subset view: it measures complaints answered late against the Section XI clocks. Voce 52563 counts disputes of unauthorised payments, whether or not the customer used the word “complaint”. Decide in writing which ticket types feed which voce.
4. How a complaint is counted
Counting starts with the definition in the transparency provisions. A reclamo is any act by which a clearly identifiable customer contests, in writing, a conduct or an omission of the intermediary. Letters, fax and email are the examples the provisions give. Anonymous messages and unwritten phone calls fall outside it.
The Circolare 217 instructions for voce 52430 then add four counting rules:
- One case, one complaint. Ordinary back-and-forth between the parties within the complaint file is not counted again.
- Something substantially new means a new complaint. A follow-up message that raises genuinely new matter is counted separately.
- Third-party products count. Complaints about products and services of other firms that the reporting entity distributes are included.
- Outcome in four states. Upheld, partly upheld, rejected or still under review.
Each complaint also carries a subject attribute (Oggetto dei reclami) and a province. The province rule is specific. It is the province where the customer’s account is held. Where that concept does not apply, as with virtual accounts, it is the province where the customer resides. Where the firm has no information on the complainant, the province is reported as non applicabile. The permitted subject values come from the Bank’s classification tables for the survey, not from the firm’s own taxonomy.
5. Calendar and channel
Voce 52430 and the rest of II.16 are half-yearly, with reference dates of 30 June and 31 December. Under the General Warnings, Section II data describe, as a rule, the position on the last day of the period. The count covers complaints received during the semester. The outcome is the one recorded at the reference date.
The deadline needs care, because the manual gives it in two places that do not line up perfectly. In Annex B, the IP and IMEL timetable, Section II data for 30 June are due on 25 July and for 31 December on 25 January. A defined list of semestral Section II voci is deferred to 25 September and 5 April. The II.16 voci are not on that list. The enactment act’s 25 July 2024 first deadline for the new refund voci matches the 25 July rule. Treat 25 July and 25 January as the working deadlines, and confirm each one against the scadenzario in INFOSTAT, which shows the exact date per survey and reference period.
Circolare 217 leaves transmission technicalities to the Bank’s statistics department. In practice the return is delivered through INFOSTAT, the Bank’s data-collection platform; our INFOSTAT guide covers enrolment, the diagnostic run and delivery.
6. The link to Section XI of the transparency provisions
The Bank’s provisions on Trasparenza delle operazioni e dei servizi bancari e finanziari set the organisational rules behind the numbers. Section XI, paragraph 3, applies to Italian IPs and IMELs and to the Italian branches of EU IPs and IMELs. It requires a complaints policy approved by the strategic-supervision body and a complaints officer or unit independent of sales. It also sets the reply clocks the late-complaints voce measures.
| Requirement | Rule | Where it shows in Circolare 217 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum reply time, general | No more than 60 days from receipt | Breaches feed voce 52541 (banking and credit services) |
| Maximum reply time, payment services | 15 business days; in exceptional cases a holding reply giving reasons, with the final answer within 35 business days | Breaches feed voce 52541 (payment services) |
| Register | Record the essential elements of every complaint and any remedy given | The source for 52430 counts, outcomes, subjects and provinces |
| Public report | Publish an annual report on complaint handling, with data, on the firm’s website | Should reconcile to the two semesters of 52430 |
For branches, Section XI adds one point. In the Italian branch of an EU IP or IMEL, a named person is responsible for complaints and reports to the branch’s legal representative. For how complaints escalate to the ABF, see our Italy conduct guide.
7. Worked case: a semester with no complaints
Facts: a small Italian IMEL closes the second half of the year with no written complaints in its register. The operations lead proposes skipping the II.16 file.
Applicable rule: II.16 is a half-yearly obligation for every IP and IMEL. Zero complaints does not mean an empty sub-section. Voce 52563 may still hold unauthorised-payment disputes. Voce 52558 counts any basic payment accounts open at 31 December. Switching requests feed 52553.
What the compliance officer does: checks the other II.16 voci before concluding anything is nil. Confirms the zero by reviewing the support inbox and the dispute queue for written contestations that were never logged as complaints. Then follows the INFOSTAT instructions for the survey on how to deliver a zero or nil position, rather than not sending anything.
Outcome: a timely submission and a documented zero.
8. Worked case: a complaint settled in part after the reference date
Facts: a payment institution receives a written complaint on 20 June about a charge applied to a payment account. On 10 July it agrees to refund half the amount. The 30 June return is being prepared on 15 July.
Applicable rule: voce 52430 counts complaints received in the period, and Section II data reflect the position on the last day of the period. On 30 June the case was open.
What the compliance officer does: reports the complaint in the H1 return as in istruttoria, under its subject and the customer’s province. Does not count it again in H2, because it was received in H1. Records the 10 July partial outcome in the register for the annual public report. Checks two related voci: whether the refund belongs in the refund voci 52543 and 52545 for the semester in which it is paid, and whether the reply went out within the 15-business-day payment-services clock or must appear in 52541.
Outcome: the H1 figure reflects 30 June, the settlement shows later in the refund data, and nothing is double-counted.
9. Worked case: mapping a ticketing system for an Italian branch
Facts: an e-money institution authorised in another member state runs an Italian branch. Complaints arrive through a group-wide ticketing tool with free-text categories, one ticket per email, and no province field. Most customers are online-only, and many are businesses.
Applicable rule: the branch reports all of II.16 (General Warnings, paragraph 2.3). Exchanges within one complaint file are not separate complaints. The province follows the account or, where that does not apply, the customer’s residence, and is non applicabile only when nothing is known. The subject must use the Bank’s permitted values.
What the compliance officer does:
- Filters the scope to complaints of the Italian branch’s customers that meet the written-and-identifiable definition.
- Collapses tickets into cases with a case key, so that reminders and replies drop out. A message with substantially new content opens a new case.
- Maps each internal category to one of the Bank’s subject values in a maintained mapping table owned by compliance.
- Fills the province from the customer record, using residence for individuals and, for businesses, the registered address. It writes that choice into the methodology note.
- Derives the outcome with a fixed rule: open cases are under review; closed cases are upheld, partly upheld or rejected on the recorded decision. Every manual override is logged by case key.
Outcome: a reproducible extract that reconciles to the register and a mapping the next semester can reuse.
FAQ
Where is the complaints count in Circolare 217?
In Section II, sub-section 16 Relazioni con la clientela, as voce 52430 Numero di reclami ricevuti. The 22nd update of 2 November 2022 moved it there from sub-section II.9.
How often is it filed?
Half-yearly, with reference dates of 30 June and 31 December. Under the IP and IMEL timetable, Section II data are due on 25 July and 25 January. Confirm the date for each period in the INFOSTAT scadenzario.
Does an Italian branch of an EU e-money institution have to file?
Yes. Paragraph 2.3 of the General Warnings requires Italian branches and contact points of EU IPs and IMELs to send the II.16 data on the same timetable as Italian institutions.
How is the province chosen?
By the province where the customer’s account is held. Where that does not apply, as with virtual accounts, it is the province where the customer resides. If the firm has no information on the complainant, it reports “non applicabile”.
Are late replies reported?
Yes, in voce 52541. It counts complaints handled beyond the Section XI maximum times, split between banking and credit services and payment services.
10. What to do, today
- Calendar: put 25 July and 25 January in the reporting calendar for II.16, and check both against the INFOSTAT scadenzario each period.
- Case key: count cases, not messages, and record when a follow-up is substantially new.
- Province at intake: capture the account or residence province for every complaint, with a documented rule for business customers.
- Subject mapping: keep one compliance-owned table from internal categories to the Bank’s subject values.
- Clocks: tag payment-services complaints at intake so that the 15 and 35 business-day clocks run, and 52541 can be produced from the register.
- Reconcile: tie the two semesters of 52430 to the annual public complaints report and the complaints officer’s annual report.
Related: Complaints reporting compared across the EU · Italy conduct: ABF and complaints · Circolare 217 supervisory returns
