by Adiel Ismail
Accurate information is key today, in the dawn of the 4th industrial revolution. Standard Bank’s banking app reflects the outstanding loan amount of its revolving credit loans incorrectly which could result in customers paying more than is required.
Assuming a revolving credit loan of R10 000 was approved to a Standard Bank customer. Eventually when the account balance including interest is say R500 and the customer pays R520 towards the loan, then the banking app, instead of displaying a credit outstanding loan amount of R20, displays R9 980!
The latter amount is misleading and creates the impression that only R20 had been paid off from the original loan amount of R10 000 while a capital payment of R10 020 excluding interest had in fact been paid.
The listed transactions of the loan account also do not shed any light on the actual status of the account since no daily balance is reflected alongside the list of transactions on the app.
The problem is exacerbated in the scenario highlighted above since customers cannot access and revolve funds repaid of a revolving credit loan.
Further, the banking app reflects the available balance to a customer – again misleadingly – as R20.
In other words, not a single cent of the repaid amount of R10 000 is available to a customer, despite having settled the loan in full, but also having paid an additional amount of R20.
However, while customers are prevented by the bank from accessing the funds repaid in the revolving loan account, the bank happily continues to charge monthly service fees to the loan account.
What purpose does a revolving account have, if the funds repaid in it are not available and cannot be revolved by the account holder?
The misleading “outstanding loan amount” and the “available balance” reflected on the banking app could easily result in a customer making a payment to reduce the incorrect “outstanding” loan amount of an already settled loan.
The above matter was brought to the attention of the bank manager at the Kromboom branch, but disappointingly he failed to understand the dilemma.
The matter was then also brought to the attention of Standard Bank’s regional manager, Alan Dunbar, who failed to explain the erroneous information displayed on its banking app, two weeks after it was brought to his attention.
Is Standard Bank benefiting from the inaccurate information reflected on its banking?
You be the judge.
* Adiel Ismail, Mountview.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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