Bank customers concerned about the possibility of their money being swindled by cyber fraudsters can now breathe easy. The Reserve Bank of India has come out with detailed guidelines limiting the liability of users in case of unauthorised electronic banking transactions resulting in a loss. This includes transactions where cards are physically used as well as the ones concluded online.
If you report such transactions within three working days, you will not have to bear any liability and the bank will have to credit the amount back to you within ten working days of being intimated. You may have to suffer a loss of Rs 5,000-25,000 if you notify the bank four to seven days after the unauthorised transaction, depending on the type of account or credit card you maintain. If the delay is beyond seven days, the bank's approved policy will kick in.
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However, if the loss stems from your negligence, the bank will not owe you any compensation.
This apart, the banking regulator has also directed banks to enable instant replies to SMS and email transaction alerts. "The loss/ fraud reporting system shall also ensure that immediate response (including auto response) is sent to the customers acknowledging the complaint along with the registered complaint number. The communication systems used by banks to send alerts and receive their responses must record the time and date of delivery of the message and receipt of the customer’s response, if any, to them," the central bank said in a notification.
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