Complaints procedure

What this procedure is for

This page explains how to raise a complaint with AfriSynapse, what happens at each stage, how long things should take, and what you can do if you are not satisfied with our answer. We treat complaints as free diagnostics: each one tells us where the platform, the process or a conversation fell short, and fixing the underlying cause matters more than closing the ticket. Our commitments on fairness, confidentiality and communication during a complaint are set out near the end of this page, and they apply to every complaint regardless of its subject.

You can complain about anything connected to your use of the platform: fees you did not expect, execution or pricing you disagree with, verification delays, withdrawal problems, the behaviour of a staff member, or the handling of a security incident. If you are unsure whether something counts as a complaint, send it anyway: our support desk will route it, and you lose nothing by asking.

The process, stage by stage

1

Send your complaint

Email [email protected] with "Complaint" in the subject line, or raise it with your personal manager, who must log it the same business day. Include your account reference if you have one.

2

Acknowledgement and routing

We acknowledge receipt within one business day and assign a handler who is independent of the matter complained about, so the person reviewing your case was not the person involved in it.

3

Investigation

The handler gathers the facts from account records, audit logs where relevant, and staff recollections, and contacts you if anything needs clarifying. You can add information at any stage.

4

Outcome letter

You receive a written outcome explaining what we found, what we decided, why, and what remedy, if any, we are applying. Where we got something wrong, the letter says so plainly.

5

Internal review

If you disagree with the outcome, reply within 14 days and a senior reviewer who has not handled the case re-examines it and gives a final internal response before any external route opens.

What to include, and what not to send

To investigate properly we need: your full name and the email address on the account; the date and time of the events; a clear description of what happened and what you expected instead; any reference numbers, transaction identifiers or screenshots you have; and the outcome or remedy you are asking for. A complaint with these elements can usually be resolved in a single pass, while a vague one spends its first round just establishing the facts.

Please do not send full card numbers, passwords, one-time codes, or complete bank statements where a transaction reference would do. Our staff will never need your credentials to investigate a complaint, and sending them creates a fresh security problem on top of the original issue. If a document you want to share contains unrelated sensitive information, redact it before attaching.

Timelines

Acknowledgement is sent within one business day of receipt. Most complaints are investigated and answered within five business days; where a case is complex, you receive a holding update at the five-day mark explaining what is outstanding and a revised estimate. The internal review stage takes up to ten business days from your request. These timelines sit inside the response expectations that apply to financial services complaints in South Africa, and we track our performance against them internally. Verification-related complaints follow the timing of the underlying check plus the stages above.

Escalation: external dispute resolution

If the internal process finishes and you remain dissatisfied, you have the option of taking the matter to the National Financial Ombud Scheme, the established South African dispute-resolution route that succeeded the FAIS Ombud. We name it here as a route available under the applicable framework, not as a membership or status claim. Before approaching an external scheme, please complete our internal process first, including the internal review, because you will be asked what the company did and said, and the outcome letter is that record. Complaints about suspected criminal conduct, such as fraud or stolen credentials, should additionally go to the South African Police Service.

Our commitments to you

  • Fairness: every complaint is decided on its facts against the applicable terms and rules, by someone who was not involved in the events, and outcomes are the same regardless of account size.
  • Transparency: you receive reasons in writing, not just a conclusion, including when the answer is no.
  • Confidentiality: complaint records are seen only by the people handling and reviewing them, and raising a complaint never affects the service you receive.
  • Communication: you always know who is handling your case, and you get an update at least every five business days until the matter closes.
  • Learning: complaint causes are reviewed quarterly and feed changes to the platform and its documentation, so the same failure is less likely to recur.

Contact information

Complaints go to [email protected], subject line "Complaint", or by post to 2 Sandhill Drive, Sandhurst, Sandton, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa. The support desk operates Monday to Friday, 8:00–17:00 SAST. If you cannot access email, your personal manager can log a complaint verbally on your behalf, and it enters the same process with the same timelines.