News
Statement on the Code of Banking Practice
Publication Date: 01/07/2025
The Code of Banking Practice is a guide that aims to help individual customers and small businesses better understand their rights.
The code reflects the banks’ commitment to standards of service and conduct. It confirms that fairness, transparency, trust, accountability, integrity and reliability will guide banks’ relationships with their customers.
BASA and its member banks have updated an earlier version of the code, to ensure that bank’s commitments to their customers remain in line with applicable law, including the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA) Conduct Standard for Banks. The updated code comes into effect from 01 July 2025.
The code reflects among others, banks’ responsibilities to:
- Provide suitable, clear advice about a bank’s products and services, taking the needs and circumstances of customers into account.
- Ensure that customers enquiries and transactions are dealt with.
- Not discriminate unfairly when providing banking services or products, or in their quality and terms of services. Bank staff are receiving training on their responsibilities to customers, under the code.
The code is extensive and covers most customer interactions with banks. Importantly, it also sets out customers’ responsibilities to banks, including truthfully and accurately disclosing all relevant information in account applications; taking reasonable measures to prevent fraud or theft from an account; and informing their bank as soon as possible when experiencing difficulties in meeting their financial obligations.
Banks will also promote awareness of the code amongst their customers. Where customers feel that banks are not living up to the code, banks have various channels to assist with complaints. In addition, the banks accept and acknowledge the jurisdiction of the National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa (NFO). Any customer with a complaint that cannot be resolved by a bank may approach the NFO for free assistance, where it falls within their jurisdiction. The NFO can adjudicate complaints and make binding determinations based on the code from 01 July 2025.
“The code empowers customers to make the best use of bank products and services and make sure they are treated fairly. This is another important contribution to financial education and inclusion by banks,” says BASA Managing Director, Bongiwe Kunene.