The Bankers’ Association says no cybercrime activity took place in incidents in which PriceSmart customers were charged for purchases they did not make on October 13, then reimbursed less than the original amount.
The association said via a release that it is aware of the reports from customers about a recent reversal of transactions on their credit card accounts at select merchants.
BATT said, “This is not any type of fraudulent or cyber-crime activity against customers and their banking information remains secure.”
The association added, “This reversal arose as a result of a processing issue which would have unfortunately impacted many of the banks.”
It said its member banks were “urgently working to have the matter resolved and legitimate queries are being investigated.
“Each member bank will address the matter with their impacted customers to have it remediated in the shortest possible time frame.”
First Citizens Bank (FCB) also said it was aware of this matter.
In a statement issued by its credit card centre, FCB said, “Please note this matter is not as a result of fraud or any issues with First Citizens systems or processes.”
FCB added, “We continue to liaise with the respective processing bank on remediation of this matter and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
On Monday, Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon said the ministry’s Consumer Affairs Division would look into the matter to ensure customers are not “disadvantaged.”