Every customer in Republic Bank fraud must be refunded in full – Bank of Guyana

The Central Bank on Monday said Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited is required to refund every customer who was scammed in the recent fraud involving its Visa International Debit Cards.

“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 its customer receives his/her appropriate refund,” said Dr Gobind Ganga, Bank of Guyana Governor.

His comment came one day after a report was carried in the Stabroek Newspaper in which customers claimed that the bank offered only to repay for transactions within the last three months.

“That is something we wouldn’t tolerate,” Ganga told reporters.

He said the Bank of Guyana intends to meet with the management of the bank to ensure that there are appropriate measures in place for Guyanese to access efficient payment mechanisms.

He said the Central Bank will continue to work with commercial banks to reduce cyber risks which exist currently.

“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 noted.

Republic Bank in a statement on May 15, months after customers began complaining of missing monies from their accounts, said it has been able to identify cases where customers’ Visa International Debit cards were compromised.

The Bank said it is taking the necessary steps to regularise all affected accounts using a well-defined, standard process, focused on reducing customer inconvenience.

It has not sent out another statement on its investigation since.

Republic Bank has advised that in the interim, additional security measures have been put in place to reduce further impact, and as a result, some customers may experience interruptions in service levels.