"In order to protect and provide customers with convenience, all banks must be serious in clearing accounts used to cheat. Banks also have to improve their marketing strategies by observing the principles of ethics," Kemal Azis Stamboel of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said here on Monday.
He said in the future there should no longer be SMSs terrorizing bank customers or offering credits without collateral (KTA) to them.
Bank Indonesia should strongly reprimand banks which were still involved in such a practice, he said.
Many bank customers have complained about being bothered SMSs containing KTA offers or requests for money transfers to accounts in the same of people with false identities.
In light of the issue, Bank Indonesia had held a meeting with 12 banks and formed a bank mediation working group.
Though there were 22 banks involved in the working group, Bank Indonesia had only given 12 banks the authority to handle complaints about account transfer fraud.
The 12 banks are Bank Mandiri, BNI, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Central Asia (BCA), CIMB Niaga, Bank Permata, OCBC NISP, Bank Mega, Bank Danamon, Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII), Bank Syariah Mandiri, and Bank Muamalat.
"We want more banks to have the authority, not only the 12 banks. All bank customers must be protected maximally. All banks must also provide a call center for complaints if the banks` accounts are used for cheating," he said.
Azis said that all banks must also have a commitment to end the practice of SMS terror offering credits.
The central bank (BI) noted that in the period 2007-2010, some 20,316 cases of fraudulent money transfer cases had happened involving a total of Rp161.5 billion.
(Uu.A014/HAJM/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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