Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited (RBL) has already reimbursed customers millions as a result of fraudulent activity on its Visa International Debit Cards and at least one customer says it will have to pay out millions more based on what has gone missing from his account.
On May 15th, the bank said that through its “robust monitoring systems,” it was able to quickly identify cases where customers’ cards were compromised and to effectively minimise the risk to other customers.
“The Bank is taking the necessary steps to regularise all affected accounts using a well-defined, standard process, focussed on reducing customer inconvenience. The Bank regrets the inconvenience to its customers and advises that impacted customers will be asked to confirm and validate their transactions to assist with this process,” the statement added.
According to Dr Gobind Ganga, Governor of the Bank of Guyana, which regulates commercial banks in Guyana, RBL has since reported that it has compensated some customers and is still investigating other claims. “They have told us that they have repaid more than $5 million to in excess of 50 customers and are investigating other claims. Currently, it appears they are restraining customers from using certain features or accounts,” he said.
This is a lot more information than actual customers are receiving.
On Saturday, several customers report that they received a message advising that online banking had been suspended. Others noted that attempts to use their cards for purchases failed.
Those who received the message said that it “disappeared” once they attempted to open it.
The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) has confirmed that a “blitz message” was sent to some customers but could not provide the text of the message.
The bank has made no further comment since it issued its statement last month and when Stabroek News contacted it yesterday for a response to queries raised, an officer, who identified herself only as “Ms Reynolds,” explained, “There are no new releases. No updates. The latest release is on the website.”
‘Suspicious transactions’
The situation has been particularly frustrating for Charles McGarrell, who alleges that over the last year approximately $3 million has gone missing from his account and he has since made a report to the police.
McGarrell, a property valuator, explained that he has not found much reason to make withdrawals since he finished building his home in early 2018 but when his spectacles broke he was forced to visit the bank to pay for a replacement and found a significant sum missing from his account.
“My pension has been going in the account and because I do small jobs I have no reason to take out the money, so I’ve not been paying attention,” he explained to Stabroek News.
When he did pay attention, he found that his account had been very active and in a manner which should have alerted someone at the bank. He immediately went to the Camp Street, Georgetown branch and demanded an accounting.
“They were all these Digicel Top-Up charges. I don’t even know how to do that and it seems they were happening in Jamaica. There were charges in Dublin, Ireland and San Jose, USA. It was all very odd and the fact that the charges were so close together, on the same day in some cases, clearly shows that I couldn’t have done all of that yet no one called me,” McGarrell lamented.
In fact, when he investigated he found that he had not received a bank statement for six months.
“My children received their statements but I did not. When I spoke with them at the bank, they claim that it was mailed. I asked for a re-print and they said they could only print the last three month,” he noted.
McGarrell managed to get accounting for all of 2019, which was eye opening. According to the statement seen by Stabroek News, between January 3rd and May 10th, more than $1 million in suspicious transactions occurred.
In fact, over a three-day period approximately $75,000 was siphoned off for Digicel Top Up transactions, seemingly one after the other.
McGarrell has since filed a complaint with the fraud department of the Guyana Police Force but remains frustrated at the quality of service he continues to receive from RBL.
“I have heard nothing from the bank. I have tried to see my account officer and not been able to. I have asked for my statements from 2018 and not received them. They are telling me that they will take as much as 90 days to investigate and that is simply not good enough,” he stressed.
“Why did no one call me? How could I be in Jamaica, Ireland and the US on the same day that I’m allegedly making ATM withdrawals in Guyana? What exactly is the bank’s responsibility to customers? What services are they really providing?” a frustrated McGarrell continues to ask.
In its May statement, Republic Bank advised that additional security measures have been put in place to reduce further impacts, and as a result, some customers may experience interruptions in service levels.
The Bank said it will continue to ensure that the “most up-to-date security is available through all of its channels toward the financial safety of the banking public.” The Bank also reminded customers of the need to be vigilant when using their debit cards and monitoring their account activity.
