Seminar on ‘Understanding The Legal Aspects of E-Banking’
The Seminar on ‘Understanding the Legal Aspects of E-Banking’ was indeed impactful and interactive. On August 9, 2017, at the Lagos Court of Arbitration, (LCA), Lekki, Lagos, there was a convergence of Bankers, Commerce & Investment Institutes, Accountants, Risk & Legal Departments of Regulatory Bodies to discuss the regulatory framework of institutions and bodies regulating banking in Nigeria vis-à-vis their compliance and penalties, prospects and challenges. The seminar also hinged on the legal aspects of e-banking, maintaining strong and sustainable e-banking: role of the government, legal practitioners and industries.
Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Elvis Ifekam, an e-Business professional with over eleven (11) years of banking experience, identified the institutions and bodies regulating banking in Nigeria as; the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) amongst others. Infractions routinely committed by banks range from late filing of financial reports, failure to undertake statutory due diligence and non-refund of customers’ funds shortchanged by ATM non-dispense. Despite the infractions committed by banks, there are opportunities embedded in e-banking as well as its challenges.
With e-banking, there has been a reduced transaction turnaround time as well as a reduction in cash movement. There is availability of new products and services as well as more income streams. On the other hand, the challenges associated with e-banking include fraud, money laundering, risk of data misuse and technology. Hence there is a need for consumer protection and privacy which has to do with public enlightenment and proper awareness campaigns, strong internal controls and procedures and fraud monitoring software.
Also speaking at the seminar, the second speaker, Mr. Joseph Eimunjeze, a Managing Associate, at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (UUBO)mentioned that persons who are aggrieved by aggrieved by acts of cybercrime are protected under the law by the creation of the Cybercrimes Act. The Act imposes several obligations on financial institutions in dealings with their customers. The obligations include putting in place effective counter-fraud measures to safeguard the customer’s sensitive information and transactions; verifying the identity of its customers carrying out electronic financial transactions by requiring the customers to present documents bearing their names, addresses and other relevant information before issuance of ATM cards, credit cards, debit cards and other related electronic devices and to apply the principle of know your customer (KYC) in documentation of customers preceding execution of customers electronic transfer, payment, debit and issuance orders.
Banks are obliged to embrace a duty of care. Hence the bank must carefully address the issue of liability arising from any misuse of e-banking tools issued to customers. This will be done utilizing a contract. Banks could provide elaborate exclusion of liability clauses and the allocation of responsibilities among the parties.
The organizer, Commercial Law Development Services (CLDS), offers trainings to legal managers, in-house counsel, and general legal practitioners in the private and public sector. Its clientele spans across the Banking, Energy, Information Technology, Maritime and Transport, Power, Oil and Gas.
CLDS will be organizing two seminars in September 2017 on “Effective Leadership and Team Building: Sustaining Profitability in Tough Times” –which comes up on Wednesday, September 20, 2017; and “Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Terrorist Financing”– September 29, 2017.
