The Banking Association of South Africa - Code of Banking Practice

8.1 Marketing and advertising of our banking products and services, including loyalty benefits or promotions

What we will do

We will:

make sure that all advertising and promotional material of our banking products and services is clear, fair, reasonable, and not misleading;
where we become aware that any of our advertising does not comply with the Code, or any other law, take reasonable steps to correct or withdraw the advertising;
where we use telephone, cellphone, voice, or electronic communication to market directly to you, tell you during the call or message or within a reasonable time after you have received the call or message that you can demand that we stop making use of any of these mediums of communication for directly marketing to you;
use your

Take note
We will give you this opt-out opportunity each time we communicate with you to market to you directly, unless you initially refused that your information can be used for this purpose.
personal information to market to you directly, using electronic communications only if:
you have given us your consent, or
you are our customer, and your contact details were obtained (1) in the context of the sale of a product or service, and (2) for the purpose of direct marketing of our products and services, and (3) when your information was collected, you have been given a reasonable opportunity to object to the bank’s using your electronic details, free of charge, and in a way that is as simple as reasonably possible;
in any direct-marketing communication you receive from us, provide the following information:
details of the identity of the sender or the person on whose behalf the communication has been sent, and
an address or other details (including contact details or self-help channels) you can use to send a request for the communications to stop; and
where we request your consent for unsolicited electronic direct marketing through any form of electronic communication:
provide our contact details (such as an address, contact number or email address),
refer to the products, goods, or services the consent relates to,
give examples of the forms of the electronic communication to which the consent relates and the date,
include a requirement for you to sign or accept, and
tell you who the responsible party is, although the details and signature of the designated person will not be required.

Take note

We will give you this opt-out opportunity each time we communicate with you to market to you directly, unless you initially refused that your information can be used for this purpose.

What we will not do

We will not:

make you an offer on the basis that the transaction will automatically come into existence;
market to you directly if you have opted out from receiving direct marketing from us, noting that you can opt out at any time at no cost;
if you have told us to exclude you from any direct-marketing communication, contact you for direct-marketing purposes, noting that it can take up to 30 days for such block to become effective; and
in the case of a natural person, contact you telephonically at home for purposes of direct marketing on:
Sundays or public holidays,
Saturdays before 09:00 and after 13:00, or
all other days between 20:00 and 08:00 the following day, unless we do so with your express or implied consent.

Term	Explanation
Promotional offer	An offer we make you of a prize, a reward, gift, free goods or services, a price reduction or other benefit, such as a voucher entitling you to a price reduction or other benefit. Take note Your bank will apply the principles in this Code to a promotional offer where you are a: natural person; OR juristic persons; trust or partnership; your asset value or annual turnover is less than R2 million. AND Where the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 applies.
Reasonable	Justifiable and comparable to the service provided.
Sanctions	Restrictions on activities that relate to particular countries, goods and services, or persons and entities. Take note South Africa implements the targeted financial sanctions (TFS) that originate from the United Nations Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations (UNSCR). For these sanctions to be given effect FICA requires accountable institutions to freeze property and transactions pursuant to financial sanctions imposed in the UNSCR.
Security	Items of value, such as a mortgage bond registered over a property, share certificates and life policies, which represent assets used as support for a loan or other credit facilities. Take note If you do not repay the loan for which you have provided security, we have the right to dispose of the security.

Term	Explanation
Personal information	Information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person and, where it is applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic person, including, but not limited to: information relating to the race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national, ethnic, or social origin, and colour, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental health, wellbeing, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language, and birth of the person; information relating to the education or the medical, financial, criminal or employment history of the person; any identifying number, symbol, email address, physical address, telephone number, location information, online identifier, or other particular assignment to the person; the biometric information of the person; the personal opinions, views, or preferences of the person; correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that would reveal the content of the original correspondence; the views or opinions of another individual about the person; and the name of the person if it appears with other personal information relating to the person or if the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the person.
Phishing	The fraudulent practice of sending emails or other messages claiming to be from reputable companies to make individuals reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
PIN (personal identification number)	A number that is provided to you or that you choose on a strictly confidential basis, such as a card PIN that will enable you to draw cash and access other services from an ATM or point-of-sale device and that can also be used as an authentication mechanism.

Term	Explanation
Promotional offer	An offer we make you of a prize, a reward, gift, free goods or services, a price reduction or other benefit, such as a voucher entitling you to a price reduction or other benefit. Take note Your bank will apply the principles in this Code to a promotional offer where you are a: natural person; OR juristic persons; trust or partnership; your asset value or annual turnover is less than R2 million. AND Where the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 applies.
Reasonable	Justifiable and comparable to the service provided.
Sanctions	Restrictions on activities that relate to particular countries, goods and services, or persons and entities. Take note South Africa implements the targeted financial sanctions (TFS) that originate from the United Nations Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations (UNSCR). For these sanctions to be given effect FICA requires accountable institutions to freeze property and transactions pursuant to financial sanctions imposed in the UNSCR.
Security	Items of value, such as a mortgage bond registered over a property, share certificates and life policies, which represent assets used as support for a loan or other credit facilities. Take note If you do not repay the loan for which you have provided security, we have the right to dispose of the security.

Term	Explanation
Credit agreement	A legal contract in terms of which we lend you a certain amount of money for a specified period or finance movable goods and that outlines the terms and conditions associated with the contract, including your periodic repayments of the loan plus interest or, in the event of a lease, the monthly rental. The NCA does not apply to your credit agreement with your bank if: you are a juristic person (subject to the below principles regarding trusts); or you are a trust with three or more trustees; or you are a trust with one or two trustees, but the trustees are juristic persons; or you are a partnership; and your asset value or annual turnover is R1 million or more.
Customer	A personal customer and an SMME. Take note Where parts of this Code only apply to a customer of a bank and the pronoun ‘you’ is used, it means customer in that part.
Debit order	A mandate, being a written, verbal, or electronic authority that you give to a service provider, allowing a service provider to debit your bank account.
Deposit	Putting money into an account, thereby increasing the credit balance, or reducing any debit balance.

Term	Explanation
Demand guarantee (or on-demand guarantee)	An undertaking (promise) that someone (or an entity), called the guarantor, gives the beneficiary of the guarantee that the guarantor will satisfy (pay) on demand the agreed amount of money (which often relates to the debts of another, called the principal debtor). Take note A demand guarantee is a primary obligation and is not dependent on the existence of any other debt or agreement. Any disputes between the parties about the underlying debt or agreement do not impact this obligation – the guarantee must be paid on demand.
Device	A tablet, cellphone and wearable or similar technology.
Device credentials	Includes but is not limited to: a password, passcode, unlock pattern and login details used as a method of accessing a device or authorising a transaction through a device.
Digital banking	Cellphone banking, internet banking and a banking app or other digital means.
Direct marketing	Us approaching you in person or by mail or by electronic communication, including email, SMS, and automatic calling machines, for the direct or indirect purpose of promoting or offering to supply, in the ordinary course of business, any goods or services to you; or requesting you to make a donation of any kind for any reason. Take note An automatic calling machine makes automated calls without human intervention.
Dormant account	An account on which you have initiated no activity for a period that we have established in advance and in accordance with the rules relating to the specific type of account.

Marketing, advertising, promotion and loyalty and reward programmes for customers

8.1 Marketing and advertising of our banking products and services, including loyalty benefits or promotions

What we will do

Take note

Take note

What we will not do