Banks sometimes have to be held accountable. In some cases, they must compensate their customers, and it is not that simple.
In 2024, the banking sector in France experienced profound transformationsmarked by the rise of financial technologies (FinTech). Besides, you may not know it, but in certain cases, establishments must be held accountable.
The many changes of banks in 2024
New regulations and changing consumer expectations. These changes are not only redefining the business models of traditional banks, but also their relationship with their customers.
Digitalization therefore continues to strengthen in 2024. With a growing number of French people preferring to manage their bank accounts and carry out transactions via mobile applications or websites.
Online banks, such as Boursorama, Hello bank! or ING, know strong growth. These establishments offer banking services at lower costs and with a 100% digital interface.
All of them attract younger generations and those looking for more flexibility. Traditional banks, for their part, have adapted their online services by integrating advanced features such as account management via virtual assistants.
But also the possibility of carrying out credit simulations in a few clicks. Or even optimization tools financial management based on artificial intelligence.
FinTechs, these innovative companies that reinvent financial servicesplay an increasingly dominant role in 2024. Neobanks like Revolut or N26 continue to attract a large audience with their dematerialized services.
New consumption habits
They are therefore often more accessible, cheaper and faster than traditional banks. At the same time, start-ups specializing in specific areas (direct payments, online creditsautomated investments) are gaining ground.
Traditional banks, aware of this revolution, are beginning to establish partnerships with these players to enrich their offering and remain competitive. In 2024, banking regulations will become more and more strict.
With a particular focus on consumer data protection and transparency of fees. The GDPR, in force since 2018, continues to impose high standards in terms of personal data security.
This pushes banks to invest massively in their cybersecurity systems. In addition, one of the major trends is the growing pressure on financial institutions to integrate environmental, social and governance criteria.
Open Banking is another major phenomenon of 2024. This practice allows actors tiers to access customer banking data, with their consent, in order to offer additional services.
Online scams have become a real scourge, generating losses every day. thousands of complaints with the Ministry of the Interior. These scams aim to steal victims' banking information, with horrific consequences.
How do banks compensate their customers?
Faced with this threat, the first thing to do is to cancel your bank card and to contact immediately his bank. According to Maître Alexandre Barbelane, lawyer in banking law, this approach is obligatory.
In many cases, banks can offer a refund to their customers. However, this reimbursement is not systematic and depends on several conditions.
The deadline for reporting the incident is thirteen months. But this period is reduced to 70 days if the payment was made outside the European Economic Area, as indicated in Ministry of Economy.
In addition, each file is the subject of an investigation to determine whether a reimbursement is justified, specifies the French Banking Federation. Banks rely on the concept of gross negligence to refuse a refund.
However, this notion of negligence remains vague. In most cases, scams involve fake bankers. They spoof the bank number to deceive victims and obtain their banking information.
While some jurisdictions until recently considered this to be gross negligence, judges now consider that the client was deceived through no fault of their own. In October 2024, the Court of Cassation made a very clear judgment.
“A customer duped by a fake bank advisor cannot be accused of negligence serious by his bank. And is entitled to a reimbursement of the fraudulent transfers,” the Court said. This decision marks an important turning point and facilitates the process of obtaining reimbursement for victims.
However, the process for reimbursing may be long and annoying. Faced with the prospect of a prolonged legal battle to recover sometimes modest sums, many victims have no choice but to give up.
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