Ekaterine Galdava, Vice Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, took part in the International Conference on “Competition and Consumer Protection.” The event, now in its third year, was jointly organized by the Competition and Consumer Protection Agency, the National Bank of Georgia, GNERC, the State Insurance Supervision Service, and the Communications Commission. 

During her speech, Ekaterine Galdava highlighted the significance of such initiatives, emphasizing their role in fostering best practices in consumer protection and enhancing consumer financial education. She expressed hope for continued and strengthened collaboration in this field. 

Galdava shared insights into the progress made by the NBG in recent years regarding consumer rights protection and financial education. She noted that in 2023, the NBG’s Consumer Rights Protection Department expanded its mandate to include market conduct supervision. This new focus ensures risk-based monitoring and analysis of market practices to foster a consumer-friendly financial environment aligned with international best practices. 

“The department is committed to implementing best practices in the financial market while addressing consumer appeals daily within the scope of our authority. The increasing number of consumer appeals to the NBG in recent years reflects growing consumer awareness and trust in our initiatives. Consequently, we can confidently assert that the financial sector has seen notable improvements in both consumer rights protection standards and financial education. Nevertheless, significant work remains ahead,” stated Galdava.  “The NBG is currently developing a market conduct supervision strategy and plans to introduce consumer-focused product and service frameworks. Special attention will be given to increasing financial inclusion, particularly for women entrepreneurs.”

To further strengthen consumer rights protection, the NBG established a Commission for Disputes in 2023, which began accepting complaints in 2024. This alternative dispute resolution mechanism, compliant with the European Union’s PSD2 Directive, addresses disputes related to unauthorized transactions, including those made via cards, online banking, and mobile banking. The Commission has already achieved notable success, resolving disputes and reimbursing consumers. 

Panel discussions during the conference featured Lasha Gzirishvili, Head of the Consumer Rights Protection Department at the NBG, Natia Chkonia, Head of the Market Conduct Supervision Division, and Sophio Momtsemlidze, Head of the Competition Division within the Legal Department.