By Moses Oketa
Kampala: Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has tasked the Bank of Uganda (BoU) to investigate allegations of digital banking fraud that have raised concern among Ugandans, many of whom claim that their funds have been withdrawn without their knowledge.
The matter was raised by Kasambya County Member of Parliament David Kabanda during the Prime Minister’s question time on Thursday in a plenary session chaired by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa.
Nabbanja also asked the Minister of Finance Planning and Economic Development Matia Kasaija to present a statement on the matter that threatens to erode public confidence in the financial sector.
MP Kabanda noted that there was a lady who was complaining that about Shs100 million had been withdrawn from her bank account. He asked the government to take it upon itself to investigate the matter.
The Prime Minister in response said that she is aware of media reports about the recent storm caused by an Equity Bank customer who claimed that he lost Shs10 million through electronic fraud, but the bank in question did little to assist him.
Nabbanja assured Parliament that she is going to convene a meeting with the commercial banks to see how best the situation can be arrested to avoid occurrence of similar incidents in the future.
According to the video shared widely on social media, an Equity bank customer claimed that the bank “stole” his money and that he is being tossed around without any much assistance. In the video, which he took at the bank’s head office in Kampala, the complainant claims that the people he was given to assist him are dodging him.
This comes at a time when the banking sector is coming up with alternatives to teller banking like agent banking, internet banking among others. A lot needs to be done to ensure that customer’s money and personal information are safe to ensure these alternative channels are trusted.
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