
“People tend to forget
their duties but remember their rights” – Indira Ghandi.
But this won’t be
you!
No matter how
grounded you are in the knowledge of your rights as a bank customer, faulting
in the performance of your duties will only birth more unpleasant banking
experiences.
So, here are some
duties you should be aware of and perform at all times as a bank customer.
1.
Duty of knowledge and understanding:
This represents the
cornerstone of your duties as a bank customer and involves the search for
relevant knowledge that should lead you to make informed decisions and enhance
your benefits. Without adequate knowledge, customers are bound to make
ill-informed decisions which may precipitate an avalanche of complaints from
customers against their banks. It is generally agreed that sophistication in
the banking industry has tasked the understanding of even people that are
financially literate; it is, therefore, your responsibility to “shine your
eyes” when dealing with your bank.
2. Duty of
financial obligation:
This requires
customers to repay credit facilities and pay mutually agreed interest on loans
and other financial services rendered by their banks as and when due. This is
one of your major responsibilities to the extent that banks are established to
provide loans and other financial services to you and other customers. Thus,
you are obligated to ensure that payments or repayments to your bank are not
delayed in order not to suffer penalties in the form of default charges.
3.
Duty to protect instruments and information:
It is your duty as a
bank customer to keep your cheque book, ATM and all information relating to
your account like PIN, passwords and codes safe. It is important to stress that
a bank cannot bear responsibility for any loss incurred by customers as a
result of their negligence in protecting vital instruments or information.
Let’s take a break
and digest these three for now. I’ll share more in subsequent time.
Stay informed.
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