Matchbook bolsters customer fund security with new trust arrangement

Matchbook has created an independent trust account structure to secure the long-term future of customer funds in the unlikely event of financial insolvency. Details of the structure put in place have not been revealed, although the exchange operator said the trust arrangement will ensure UK and Irish customer funds will be held at a “High Protection” level subject to Gambling Commission (UKGC) guidelines. “Matchbook strives to provide a safe environment that adheres to the highest regulatory standards,” the firm said in a statement. “Matchbook customers can rest assured that the funds they hold with Matchbook are safe and secure in the unlikely event that the company would become insolvent,” Matchbook added. Under UKGC standards concerning the protection of consumer funds, remote operators are assessed and categorised based on three distinct insolvency categories. Customer funds which are segregated from an operator’s business accounts but would form part of the assets of the business in the event of insolvency are deemed to be non-protected. These accounts may include bank accounts, investment accounts and other accounts. Those operators whose customer funds are kept in accounts separate from business accounts with arrangements made to ensure customer account assets are distributed to customers in the event of insolvency are deemed as medium level protection. Arrangements in the medium level category include so-called Quistclose trust accounts and other insurance arrangements. At the highest protection level are those operators whose customer funds are held in a formal trust account which is legally and in practice separate from the financial affairs of the company. These accounts must be verified by and subject to controls by an independent trustee or external auditor. Speaking about the new trust arrangement, Matchbook’s CEO Farzad Peyman said: “At Matchbook, we have consistently aimed to put the customer front and centre in our ongoing development. “Coupled with our exceptional customer service, the addition of this trust structure will add to the already positive and open relationship we have with our community,” Peyman added. Matchbook’s UK licence was suspended by the UKGC in February 2020 following a high-profile investigation and review of its existing compliance practices. The firm was later fined £740,000 as a result of the investigation but had its suspension lifted in August 2020 after implementing a number of independently audited licence conditions covered under the review. It relaunched to UK players in the same month.