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Capitec, Nedbank blame tech glitch for debit order debacle

Samuel Mungadze
By Samuel Mungadze, Africa editor
Johannesburg, 11 Sept 2020

Capitec and Nedbank have owned up to the debit order debacle that resulted in clients having double deductions from their accounts.

Both banks have promised the problem will be resolved in the next 24 hours and monies will be reimbursed to the affected parties.

Capitec was roasted on social media on Friday following the deductions, as clients complained of the bank’s service over the deductions.

The bank has apologised to its customers for the interruption in banking services that occurred early Friday.

“The double deduction was due to a technical issue by another bank and was outside of our control. We are taking this very seriously and are working with the responsible bank to swiftly rectify the issue. Again, we apologise for the inconvenience to our clients,” says Capitec.

It adds: “We are aware of a technical issue between us and another bank that has caused Capitec clients who transacted on this bank’s card machines to be double deducted. Our IT team is working to rectify the issue. The transactions will be reversed within the next 24 hours.

“We will SMS the affected clients directly. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Nedbank has since confirmed to local media that some transactions on Monday, 7 September, were processed again in the early hours of Friday, 11 September, by accident.

In a statement issued on Friday, Nedbank says it can “confirm that certain individuals were impacted by a technical error involving the processing of card transactions".

According to Nedbank: "A transactional file of 7 September 2020 was erroneously processed on 11 September 2020, resulting in duplicate debits. Nedbank apologises for the inconvenience caused and confirms that the impacted individuals will be reimbursed within 24 hours."

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) also weighed in on the matter, saying it is aware of recent technical issues experienced by Capitec Bank.

“The authority has also taken note of Capitec clients’ complaints about this issue and have engaged Capitec accordingly. The bank’s management team has assured the FSCA that this matter is being attended to urgently, and will be resolved in the next 24 hours, with clients’ funds returned to their accounts. Clients who do not receive their money can approach the banking ombudsman to file an official complaint,” FSCA comments.

It says as part of the requirements in the FSCA’s conduct standard for banks, “the FSCA will continue to engage with the banking sector and review their systems and processes to avoid such instances occurring in the future”.

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