…Bank of Guyana says no time limit on refunds for fraudulent banking transactions

ONCE fraud has occurred, and has been proven, there is no limited timeline within which commercial banks have to make refunds to customers, says Bank of Guyana Governor Dr. Gobind Ganga.

In a recent Stabroek News report, a customer claimed that he was told by a Republic Bank Limited (RBL) official that he would only be compensated for fraudulent transactions that occurred within the past three months.

“That is something that we wouldn’t tolerate,” Ganga said of the situation.
“If there is a fraud it doesn’t matter how long that fraud is dated back, Republic Bank or any bank will have to ensure that the customer receives his or her appropriate refund.”
Ganga further noted that the central bank was working with RBL and other commercial banks to limit cyber risks to customers.

“We would have to continue to work to ensure that we have an efficient system that is one where you can’t have the kind of cyber risk that exists now. We will be working with the commercial banks to ensure that the Guyanese public are afforded the opportunity to transact business almost risk free,” he said.

“Currently what is happening is that there is some transition at RBL. My intention is to talk to the higher level management to ensure that we have the appropriate measures in place for Guyanese to access efficient payment mechanisms.”

RBL is Guyana’s largest bank. The Trinidad-headquartered bank is scheduled to own approximately 51 per cent of both assets and deposits of Guyana’s banking systems following the announcement last year November that the bank was buying over the operations of Scotiabank in Guyana, and nine other countries. That sale is still to be finalised, as it is being investigated by the central bank.

It was noted that, as a possible safety measure, RBL has begun requiring customers to call Trinidad, before being able to use the international Visa debit card service on their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards.

“Maybe that is one of the measures the RBL would have put in place to help reduce the risk with fraud,” Ganga noted. In May, following the public outcry, Republic Bank issued a statement confirming that some customers were affected by “fraudulent activity” via their international Visa-One ATM cards. Customers reported that monies mysteriously disappeared from their accounts and when they reported the matter, bank officials say the deductions were made for online payments to Netflix accounts or online shopping.

The bank issued a statement saying that additional security measures were put in place to protect customers, noting that “impacted customers will be asked to confirm and validate their transactions to assist with this process”. In a subsequent report to the BoG, RBL is said to have already paid out to over 70 customers over $5 million in refunds due to the issue. The Bank did not give a timeline within which it would be limiting repayments for. An email was sent to the bank’s Manager’s Assistant of Communication and Public Relations, Jonelle Dummett, who promised to speak on the issue eventually.

According to the customer in the Stabroek News report, he was told that the bank would only be issuing refunds for fraudulent transactions that occurred within the last three months, since bank statements are issued quarterly and it is the customers’ responsibility to check their statements and identify any fraud.