Adapted from an original article by Dirk de Vos and Patrick Le Roux, first published on Currency.
- South Africans lost R1.88-billion to digital banking fraud in 2024, and 83% of formal complaints were resolved in favour of the bank.
- But there are laws that give you the right to challenge your bank’s decision. Most people do not know they exist.
If someone stole money from your bank account, you know how the bank’s reply feels. It comes a week or two later. It says the transaction went through normally, that a recognised device was used, and that the bank is not liable. Case closed.
What the bank does not tell you is what its own fraud systems actually picked up. What warnings came through. What was spotted and then ignored. Why the transaction was allowed to happen at all. The bank has all of that information. You only get the final answer.
Last year, banking complaints went up 31%. In 83% of cases, the bank’s version was accepted. Only one formal ruling went against a bank the whole year.
But that does not mean you are out of options.
Two South African laws give you the right to demand the information the bank used to make its decision.
The first is called the Promotion of Access to Information Act, or PAIA. This law says you can ask any company to hand over records if you need them to protect yourself. If the bank rejected your fraud claim, you have the right to see exactly what it based that decision on.
The second is the Protection of Personal Information Act, or POPIA. This law says you have the right to see any personal information a company holds about you, including records of your transactions, your device, and how you logged in.
Use both laws together. Send your requests at the same time as your formal complaint, not after the bank has already said no.
When you put in your request, ask for these things specifically:
The login and transaction records for the day the fraud happened, including what device was used, where it connected from, and whether a one-time PIN was sent. If the bank says a known device was used, that is just their conclusion. Ask to see the actual record.
The fraud alert records showing what the bank’s systems flagged, and what the bank did about it or did not do.
Records of any calls or messages the bank sent you during the fraud, and what happened after those went unanswered.
The account number and bank details of where your money ended up. Banks often refuse to give this out, but PAIA says they must, and you need it to open a police case and request a freeze on the account.
The moment you find out about the fraud, call your bank and tell them to freeze the account your money was sent to. Ask them to contact the other bank immediately. Write down the name of the person you spoke to and the exact time. Ask for written confirmation. How quickly the bank acts after your call can matter later.
Go to the police straight away and get a case number. You will need it for everything else.
Put in a formal written complaint with your bank. Keep a record of every call you make, every person you speak to, and every time nobody gets back to you.
If six weeks pass and you are getting nowhere, take your complaint to the National Financial Ombud. This is a free service that handles banking complaints.
You can also report to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority if you feel the bank handled your complaint unfairly or its systems were not working properly.
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This article is adapted from a piece by Dirk de Vos and Patrick Le Roux, originally published on Currency.
