- MADINAH: Account holders at several local banks are accusing bank employees of divulging details of their accounts to third parties, particularly individuals with whom they have business deals or to whom they owe money, Al-Madinah newspaper reported on Friday.
As a result, a banking expert recently urged the authorities to take action against anyone involved in divulging private bank details to third parties. “The third parties generally are people who are owed money. These individuals have close relations with bank employees and use them to get information,” said the expert.
He added that the bank employees receive commissions for furnishing information to these individuals. He said banks should ensure an account holder’s details are not divulged.
Muhammad Al-Hazemi, a Saudi bank account holder, said it is relatively easy for anyone who has a close relationship with a bank employee to get details of a customer’s bank account. “One of my colleagues told me that it is possible for him to get details of my bank account without me even going to the bank. This is a breach of the trust that account holders have in banks,” he said.
An Al-Madinah newspaper correspondent visited a local bank and asked for the account details of an individual. The details were provided within 15 minutes.
Reacting to the issue, one bank manager expressed his helplessness in curbing such violations. “It is painful that such things happen at the expense of our account holders. These employees exploit loopholes in our monitoring system,” said the manager, while urging bank employees to safeguard customers’ privacy.
He added that the only third parties allowed access to such data are government agencies.
According to Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency guidelines, banks are only permitted to reveal customers’ account details to five government bodies: Shariah courts, the Court of Grievances, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance and local governorates. Anyone found violating these regulations risk jail terms of up to two years or fines of up to SR2,000, or both.
The disclosure of private bank details to third parties is also a punishable offense in some countries. In Switzerland, for example, an employee convicted of revealing private bank details risks six months in prison and a fine of up to $40,000.
Aziz Al-Aali, a legal consultant, said a customer whose bank account details have been given to a third party is entitled to sue the bank for compensation. “The agreement between the bank and the customer prevents the former from revealing any private details of a customer’s account to third parties,” he said.
