Attorney Trudie Broekmann called on South Africa's Minister of Finance to introduce a mandatory reimbursement regime for bank fraud victims, modelled on the UK's authorised push payment (APP) scam rules, in an open letter published by IOL on 8 June.
The letter argues that "consumers who are hit by cyberfraud are novices to the experience, while our SA banks are experts", yet banks routinely place responsibility back on the affected customers rather than accepting it themselves. It states that banking fraud increased by 86% in 2024 alone and describes South Africa as the most targeted country on the continent for cybercrime.
Broekmann also says victims struggle to recover stolen funds because banks cite the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) when refusing to share details of the accounts that received the money, information needed to investigate and pursue recovery.
UK-STYLE SHARED LIABILITY
The proposed model would follow the UK approach, under which both the sending and the receiving bank share liability for reimbursing victims of APP fraud, except where the victim was grossly negligent. Broekmann argues the burden should shift from consumers to banks, which she says are the experts and have the resources to prevent fraud.
Beyond the finance ministry, the letter is directed at the Payments Association of South Africa, the Banking Association South Africa, the South African Reserve Bank, financial sector regulators and the Financial Intelligence Centre. It invites each to respond with their proposed next steps to introduce such a policy in South Africa, along with proposed timelines.