Online Banking Terms and Conditions of Investec Bank (Mauritius) Limited

In these Terms and Conditions, unless clearly inconsistent with or otherwise indicated by the context:

1.1 “Account” means a deposit and/or applicable lending account opened by the Account Holder and conducted at the Bank by the User;

1.2 “Account Holder” means the person(s) or entity(ies) who/which opened and holds the Account(s) with the Bank and in whose/which name the Account(s) is (are) conducted;

1.3 “Bank” means Investec Bank (Mauritius) Limited, a company incorporated in the Republic of Mauritius with Company Registration Number 8752/3362 and Business Registration Number C09008752 and whose registered office is at 6th Floor, Dias Pier Building, Le Caudan Waterfront, Le Caudan, Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius;

1.4 “Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday and official public holiday in the Republic of Mauritius;

1.5 “Investec Website” means the Investec Group website (including all its constituent web pages) on which the Bank provides the service from time to time, including all pages in respect of whose content the Investec Group exercises control;

1.6 “Service” means the Online Banking Service or such further services as may fall within the ambit of Online Banking Services;

1.7 “Terms and Conditions” means the Service Terms and Conditions as provided for herein;

1.8 "User" means the Account Holder who/which is authorised to use the Service and to exchange communications and, where applicable, includes such person(s) or entitity (ies)’s duly authorized representative(s) who is/are approved as such by the Bank from time to time;

1.9 "User ID and Password" means the Bank identification number and password allocated to the User by the Bank to access the service;

1.10 "Verification Mechanism" means any mechanism, device or process used by the Bank to verify the identity of a client in the exchange of communications, including the User ID and Password and the online banking notification to the User when the User logs on to the Service;

1.11 “Verification Criteria” means the minimum requirements that must be met by the User in order to verify the User’s identity telephonically or otherwise, as determined by the Bank.

In the Terms and Conditions, unless clearly inconsistent with or otherwise indicated by the context:

2.1 A provision of law is a reference to that provision as amended or re-enacted;

2.2 The singular includes the plural and vice versa;

2.3 A time of day is a reference to the Republic of Mauritius time (GMT+4hours);

2.4 Sections, clauses and headings are for ease of reference only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of the Terms and Conditions.

4.1 The Bank shall provide the User with access to the Service provided that:

4.1.1 the User has completed, in full and to the Bank’s satisfaction, the Application form for User access; and

4.1.2 that there is an Account in respect of which the User seeks to access and/or use the Service.

4.2 In the event of a change in the User’s personal information (including but not limited to the User’s name, identity number, passport number, registration number, address, registered address and contact numbers), the User shall be responsible for advising the Bank, in writing, of such changes as soon as is reasonably possible.

4.3 Once the User has access to the Service, the User will be able to view Account details, Account balances, transact from the Account and obtain a limited transaction history as amended from time to time. The User shall instruct the Bank via the Service to effect transactions in accordance with the provisions of the Terms and Conditions, the rules and/or regulations and/or laws and/or procedures that apply to the Service from time to time and in accordance with the instructions of the User.

4.4 The form and content of the information provided via the Service will be at the Bank’s sole and absolute discretion.

4.5 If there is any discrepancy between the information that is supplied via the Service and the Bank’s internal records, the Bank’s internal records shall prevail and be treated as conclusive and accurate.

4.6 The Service is offered by the Bank in accordance with the Terms and Conditions and the Bank may deny access or withdraw access to the Service if the User is found to be acting in violation of the Terms and Conditions or abuse or fraudulently use the Service. Abuse and fraudulent use of the Service shall include, but not be limited to:

4.6.1 obtaining, or attempting to obtain the Service by rearranging, tampering with, or making connection with any facilities of the Internet Service Provider (“ISP”) of the Bank, or by any trick, scheme, false pretence or representation or false credit device, or through any other fraudulent means or devices whatsoever, with the intent to avoid payment, in whole or in part, or to seek payment in whole or in part, of the regular charges for the Service; and/or

4.6.2 accessing, altering, or destroying the data files, programs, procedures and/or information of the ISP, or of another User of the ISP or the Bank or attempting any of the aforementioned activities; and/or

4.6.3 assisting another to perform the acts prohibited in 4.6.1 or 4.6.2 above; and/or

4.6.4 using the Service and/or its related software in such a manner as to interfere unreasonably with the use of the Service by any other User and/or the Bank and/or any other authorised person.

4.7 Notwithstanding any contrary provisions in the Terms and Conditions, the Bank reserves the right to reject, in its discretion, any application for the Service.

5.1 The Bank may specify the Verification Mechanisms and Verification Criteria required to obtain access to the Service from time to time.

5.2 The User must satisfy the Verification Criteria when engaging the Bank in respect of the Service.

5.3 The Bank shall be entitled to refuse to give effect to communications from a User and/or refuse a User access to the Service should a User fail to use the Verification Mechanism or fail to satisfy the Verification Criteria, as the case may be.

5.4 Only the User to whom the Verification Mechanism is allocated shall be entitled to use the Service.

5.5 The User undertakes to change the password (allocated to the User by the Bank) on using the Service for the first time and on a regular basis thereafter.

5.6 Should the User access the Service and not recognise the passphrase (which it was prompted to stipulate on using the Service for the first time) and, despite this, continues to use the Service (or what purports to be the Service), the Bank shall not be liable in any manner whatsoever for any loss the User may suffer as a result and the User indemnifies the Bank accordingly.

5.7 The Bank may, in its sole discretion and for whatever reason, require the User to change its Verification Mechanism or parts thereof from time to time and the User undertakes to comply with such requirement unconditionally.

5.8 The User acknowledges that the Verification Mechanism may enable the User to access all online services of the Investec Group and, accordingly, unauthorised use of the Verification Mechanism could expose the User to fraudulent transactions on the User’s other accounts held in the Investec Group.

5.9 The User undertakes to ensure the confidentiality of the Verification Mechanism at all times, and shall without limitation, ensure that the Verification Mechanism is neither easily accessible nor disclosed to someone other than the User. Unless the contrary is proven, storing or recording the User ID and/or Password on the User’s computer, phone or network shall be presumed to be the proximate or effective cause of an unauthorised person having performed an unauthorised transaction and will be regarded as prima facie proof of negligence on the part of the User.

5.10 Where a User reasonably suspects that the Verification Mechanism has been or will soon be compromised, the User shall notify the Bank immediately by contacting Client Relations at the detail provided in clause 15 below. On receipt of the User’s notification, the Bank reserves the right to:

5.10.1 reject all instructions received after the User’s notification; and/or

5.10.2 suspend the processing of all instructions not yet executed; and/or

5.10.3 reverse (if possible) all executed transactions with effect from such date and time as the Bank may reasonably determine the unauthorised use to have commenced; and/or

5.10.4 deactivate access to the Service without further notice to the User.

5.11 The Bank may temporarily refuse the User access to the Service if it suspects that an unauthorised person is attempting to log into the Account via the Service or if incorrect Verification Mechanism details are repeatedly used in attempting to log in.

5.12 Each User, who/which is not the Account Holder, shall register with the Bank to use the Service as a User and by such registration represents and warrants to the Bank that he/she/it is duly authorised to access and use the Service as a User and agrees:

5.12.1 to be bound by the Terms and Conditions; and

5.12.2 to complete or provide information which the Bank may, in its discretion and prior to granting access to or use of the Service, reasonably require to authenticate the authority of such User.

5.13 Any delay in providing notification as set out in this clause 5, shall be presumed to be prima facie proof of negligence on the part of the User and the User shall bear the onus of proving the contrary.

5.14 Subject to 5.10, if any unauthorised person obtains any Verification Mechanism in any manner whatsoever, such person shall be regarded as the User’s duly authorised agent with full authority to use the service on the User’s behalf, unless such unauthorised person has obtained the Verification Mechanism due to gross negligence or fraud on the part of the Bank.

5.15 The User agrees that the Verification Mechanism used by the Bank shall be sufficient confirmation of the User’s identity and the User indemnifies the Bank accordingly.

5.16 The Bank may at any time and in its discretion provide an additional level of security to online banking by sending the User an automatically generated SMS or email notification each time the User logs onto the website. This further level of security shall not in any way reduce the User’s liability for ensuring the security and confidentiality of any equipment or Verification Mechanism at the User’s expense.In the event that the User does not wish to receive such SMS or email notification and requests the Bank to remove this security functionality, the User shall remain liable for any transactions performed on the User’s accounts.

6.1 The User shall comply with any security policy and procedures specified from time to time (a copy of the Bank’s security policy shall be made available upon request).

6.2 The User shall:

6.2.1 ensure that its computer is safe and free from viruses;

6.2.2 update its anti-virus product regularly and/or as reasonably required;

6.2.3 avoid using the Service from public terminals, such as internet cafes;

6.2.4 not open unsolicited emails, as these could contain stealth programs and viruses;

6.2.5 not open attachments to emails if the User knows the sender but is not expecting the email;

6.2.6 install a personal firewall product which will help to protect its computer whilst the User is online;

6.2.7 ensure that there is no unauthorised access to its computer;

6.2.8 never disclose the Verification Mechanism;

6.2.9 ensure that its operating system and browser have all the necessary security updates available from the relevant system provider;

6.2.10 ensure that there is a closed lock appearing on its computer screen to ensure that the Investec Website and/or the Service is secure when accessing the Service;

6.2.11 detect, clean up and remove any spyware on a weekly basis;

6.2.12 review User ‘Sent items’ folder for messages that may have been sent without the User’s knowledge;

6.2.13 always log out by clicking on the Service’s “Log Out” button before closing its browser;

6.2.14 comply with any other security requirements that is posted on Investec’s Website and/or the Service from time to time;

6.2.15 every time that it logs on to the Service, check that the date and time that the User last logged on is correct;

6.2.16 ensure that the Verification Mechanism is sufficiently complex so as not to be easily guessed; and

6.2.17 not leave the terminal or other device from which it has accessed the Service at any time or let anyone else use it until it has logged off the Service. The User shall be solely responsible for ensuring that it has logged off the Service at the end of each session.

6.3 The User shall not allow any other party to use or access the Service on the User’s behalf using the User’s Security Details.

6.4 The User shall check the transactions shown on the Account via the Service carefully and contact the Bank immediately if there are any transactions that the User does not recognise or that the User thinks are wrong or unauthorised.

7.1 The User’s instruction contained in a communication becomes irrevocable once submitted to the Bank. Unless otherwise specified, an instruction is deemed to have been submitted once the User has positively confirmed the instruction by means of the functionality available on the Service.

7.2 Subject to clause 7.5 below, the Bank shall use reasonable endeavours to carry out the User’s instructions received through the Service in a prompt and timeous manner. However, the Bank shall not be responsible, and disclaims all liability for, any claims arising from the late or delayed attendance by the Bank to the User’s instructions, it being agreed that such instructions are issued through the Service solely at the User’s own risk.

7.3 The Bank shall not be obliged to verify the User’s transaction information, including but not limited to, the account numbers, branch name, branch numbers, recipient’s details or amounts involved in any instruction.

7.4 The Bank shall use reasonable steps to verify the authenticity of a communication which purports to emanate from the User (“purported communication”). However, the User authorises the Bank to give effect to any purported communication, whether or not such communication was sent or authorised by the User and the User agrees to be bound thereby.

7.5 The Bank reserves the right to reject or suspend the execution of an instruction received or purportedly received from the User at any time should the value or frequency of the instruction appear suspicious or out of the ordinary in the Bank’s sole discretion. On so rejecting or suspending an instruction, the Bank undertakes to contact the User within a reasonable period of time and to verify the instruction by such means as the Bank may determine, in its sole discretion.

7.6 The User shall not be entitled to countermand or amend any transaction once received and/or effected by the Bank.

7.7 The Bank shall be entitled, but not obliged, to effect any transaction which the User has identified in an instruction through use of the Service. If the User requests more than one transaction to be executed, the Bank shall be entitled to determine, in its sole discretion, the order in which such transactions are to be executed.

8.1 The User is solely and absolutely responsible for:

8.1.1 providing and maintaining any and all communication equipment, including, without limiting the generality of the aforementioned, personal computers, servers and modems required for accessing and using the Service;

8.1.2 all communications, services, fees and charges incurred by the User in accessing the Service;

8.1.3 all steps necessary to gain access to the Service, including access to the internet and for ensuring the appropriate technical capability, security and confidentiality of any equipment; and

8.1.4 ensuring that the User is entitled to use all third party software in relation to the access and use of the Service.

8.2 The Bank may, in its sole discretion, charge the User for use of the Service. In the event that the Bank does charge the User for the use of the Service, the User authorises the Bank to debit the Account or any other account which the Account Holder holds at the Bank with a charge (inclusive of Value Added Tax) per transaction in consideration for the use of the Service.

8.3 The Bank shall, after giving the User reasonable notice by letter or fax or account statement or publication on the Investec Website and/or advertisement in the media, be entitled to vary the above charge from time to time subject to any applicable law.

8.4 If any such variation in the charge is published on the Investec Website, it shall be binding on the User from the date of such publication.

9.1 The User shall indemnify and render the Bank harmless against all claims, liabilities, actions, applications or damages arising out of any direct or indirect use of or reliance on the Service in any respect whatsoever.

9.2 The Bank shall not be liable for any consequential damages howsoever arising from the use of the Service. The Bank’s total liability shall not, in any circumstances, exceed the actual amount of the transaction or transactions in dispute.

9.3 The Service (including all information and materials contained on the Service) is provided “as is” and “as available”. The Bank, its employees, affiliates, agents, advisors, third party providers and contractors:

9.3.1 provide no warranties and representations of any kind regarding the Service; and

9.3.2 do not warrant the accuracy, adequacy, timeliness or completeness of the information and materials contained on the Service and expressly disclaim liability for errors and omissions in such information and materials.

9.4 The Bank makes no warranties, representations, statements or guarantees with regard to the suitability of the Service for a particular purpose, performance or software and the User indemnifies the Bank accordingly.

9.5 The User waives any rights he may have or obtain against the Bank arising directly or indirectly from any loss or damage of whatsoever nature, which the User may suffer as a result of the Bank acting on purported instructions, and agrees to and does hereby indemnify the Bank against any claims, liabilities, losses, taxes, costs, fines, damages and expenses incurred by the Bank arising as a result of the fact that the Bank has acted on purported communications.

9.6 The Bank shall not be liable for any loss, liability, damage or expense of any nature whatsoever which may be suffered by the User or a third party as a result of or occasioned by the failure or unavailability of the Service and/or third-party systems or by the inability of any third-party to process a transaction and the User indemnifies the Bank accordingly.

9.7 The Bank shall not be responsible for any failure, malfunction or delay of any networks or electronic or mechanical device used in the acceptance and processing of transactions and any other use of the Service. The Bank shall not be liable to make good or compensate the User for any damages (whether direct or consequential), losses, claims or expenses resulting therefrom, and the User indemnifies the Bank accordingly.

9.8 The use of the Service is at the User’s initiative and at the User’s risk and the Bank shall not be liable for any loss, liability, injury, taxes, damage, claim or expense of any nature whatsoever which may be suffered by the User or any third party as a result of or arising directly or indirectly out of any withdrawal, alteration, replacement, breakdown, failure of the User's equipment and the User indemnifies the Bank accordingly.

9.9 The Bank shall not be responsible and disclaims any liability for any loss, liability, damage (whether direct or consequential) or expense of any nature whatsoever which may be suffered by the User or a third party as a result of or occasioned by the failure by the Bank to perform or process a transaction as a result of the loss or destruction of data, the destruction, hacking or deterioration of storage media, power failures, natural phenomena, riots, acts of vandalism, sabotage, terrorism or any other event beyond the Bank’s control and the User indemnifies the Bank accordingly.

9.10 The User indemnifies the Bank against any loss, damage or liability which may arise from the use or possession of any third-party software and the User undertakes to ascertain the legality of using any third-party software and to obtain all necessary licences to use such third-party software.

9.11 The User indemnifies the Bank against all claims, liabilities, actions, applications or damages arising directly or indirectly, as a result of any breach or non-performance by any User or any act, neglect or default of the User with regard to any direct or indirect use of or reliance on the Service.

9.12 The Bank shall not be liable for any acts or omissions resulting from the User’s decision or opinion formed on the basis of information or data gathered from the User and/or the User’s use of the Service.

9.13 The information accessed via the Service provides general information only and is not intended as financial, legal or tax advice or as an offer, solicitation or recommendation of securities or other financial products. The User should obtain independent financial, legal and tax advice that addresses the User’s particular investment objectives, financial situation and needs before making investment decisions.

9.14 The Bank shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from any unauthorised use of the Service, whether as a result of the Account Holder’s representatives exceeding their authority, fraud, the theft of the User's equipment or as a result of any compromise to the confidentiality of the Verification Mechanism and the User indemnifies the Bank accordingly.

9.15 The User acknowledges that the Internet is not a completely reliable or secure transmission medium and the Bank shall not be liable for any losses, costs, liabilities, claims or expenses incurred by the User directly or indirectly from:

9.15.1 the non-availability or delay in accessing the Service or the Investec Website for any reason whatsoever;

9.15.2 any unauthorised person gaining access to private information through the Investec Website and/or the Service;

9.15.3 errors or omissions in the information available through the Investec Website and/or the Service;

9.15.4 any defects or computer viruses or any other contaminating computer programme;

9.15.5 any access to the Service from public terminals, such as internet cafes;

9.15.6 any delay, difficulty in use, computer viruses, malicious code or other defect in the Service, any incompatibility between the Service and the User’s files and the User’s browser or other site accessing program, or any other problems whatsoever experienced by the User due to any causes whatsoever; and

9.15.7 the actions or omissions of any User.

9.16 The Bank shall not be liable to the User in respect of anything which may constitute breach of the Terms and Conditions including force majeure and circumstances beyond the control of the Bank including, but without limiting the generality of the aforementioned, perils of the sea or air, fire, flood, drought, explosion, sabotage, accident, embargo, riot, civil commotion, acts of local government and parliamentary authority, interruption of electricity supplies, equipment or materials breakdown, shortage of equipment and labour disputes of whatever nature and from whatever cause arising including, but without limiting the generality of the aforementioned, work to rule, overtime bans, strikes and lockouts by the employees of the Bank and/or the User and/or any other employer and/or any other employees.

10.1 The User shall not use the Service in a way which causes or is likely to cause the Service to be interrupted, damaged or impaired in any way. The User may retrieve and display pages from the Service on a computer screen and may print individual pages and store pages in electronic form only for the User’s use.

10.2 The User shall not post or transmit through the Service and/or the Investec Website any defamatory, threatening, obscene, harmful, pornographic or otherwise illegal material or material which would violate or infringe in any way upon the Bank’s rights or those of others (including intellectual property rights, rights of confidentiality and rights of privacy) or cause distress and/or inconvenience.

10.3 The User shall not post or otherwise make available on the Investec Website any material which the User does not own without the express permission of the owner of the material.

10.4 Te User shall not copy, download, reproduce, republish, frame, broadcast, transmit in any manner whatsoever, any material on the Investec Website or accessed via the Service except as is strictly necessary for the User’s use.

10.5 The User shall not copy, display, use, draft or create any summaries or derivation with any of the information available from the Service or the Investec Website for commercial purposes, remove or alter any of the trademarks, or copyright notices on the Service, create any links to the Service without permission or save, to the extent specifically permitted by applicable law, compile, decompile, reverse engineer or tamper with the Investec Website and/or the Service for any reason.

10.6 The User shall not interrupt or interfere with the working of the Investec Website and/or the Service, whether by hacking into the Investec Website and/or the Service, tampering with security or disrupting the Service in any way or by anything else.

10.7 If any wrongful use or misuse of the system is noticed by the User or any other person authorised by the User or where any party’s authority to access and use the Service by the User is revoked, it shall be the User’s responsibility to bring such revocation of authority to the notice of the Bank immediately and the User shall co-operate with the Bank in the event of the Bank giving any alert about such wrongful use or misuse of the Service.

11.1 The Bank may suspend, restrict, reduce or cancel the Service or User’s use of the Service immediately if the User breaches any agreement, including the Terms and Conditions, concluded between the User and the Bank.

11.2 The Bank reserves the right, at any time, to alter, replace or discontinue all or any part of this Service without any notice to the User and the Bank shall have no liability to the User in respect of any such alteration, replacement or discontinuance of the Service.

11.3 The Bank may cancel the User’s use of the Service immediately if the User no longer has an Account with the Bank, or where the Bank, in its sole and absolute discretion, considers that it has reasonable justification for doing so.

11.4 Following termination of the Service or User’s use of the Service, the User shall, on the Bank’s request, promptly return to the Bank or destroy any content (including Third Party Content as defined in clause 12.2 below) or other materials provided by the Bank or made available on the Service. At the Bank’s request, the User shall give written confirmation of the return or destruction of all such materials.

11.5 Unless otherwise expressly provided, on termination of the Service or the User’s use of the Service, the User’s authority to access the Service ceases immediately.

11.6 The User may terminate its use of the Service at any time by giving 2 (two) Business Days prior written notice to the Bank and termination will take effect approximately 2 (two) Business Days after the Bank has actually received the User’s written notice. Deemed notice is not sufficient notice for the purposes of the User’s request to the Bank for termination of the Service. Once termination has taken place, the User will no longer have access to the Service.

12.1 Copyright in all materials made available through the Service is owned by the Bank and protected by both national and international intellectual property laws. Accordingly, any unauthorised copying, reproduction, retransmission, distribution, dissemination, sale, publication, broadcast or other circulation or exploitation of any such material will constitute an infringement of that copyright. The trademarks, logos and service marks displayed on the Service are registered and unregistered trademarks of the Bank and/or the Investec Group. Nothing contained in the Service or on the Investec Website should be construed as granting any licence or right to use any trademark, logos or service marks without the written permission of the Bank.

12.2 The Service and/or the Investec Website may incorporate third party data, text, images, software, multi-media materials and other content (“Third Party Content”). The Bank accepts no liability for the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, legality or integrity of any Third Party Content.  

13.1 The Bank may collect, use and disclose personal data regarding the User to enable the Bank to fulfil its obligations in terms of the Terms and Conditions and any and all terms and conditions for use of the Account and for other related purposes, including monitoring and analysis of the Bank’s business, crime prevention, legal and regulatory compliance and the marketing by the Bank’s affiliates of other services. If the User withholds the personal data requested, the Bank may, in its discretion, refuse the User access to the Service.

13.2 The Bank may disclose personal data about the User to those who provide services to the Bank or act as its agent, or data processor, to any person to whom the Bank transfers or proposes to transfer any of its rights or obligations under these Terms and Conditions as well as the deposit terms and conditions and to licensed credit reference agencies or other organisations that help the Bank and others that make credit decisions and reduce the incidence of fraud or in the course of carrying out identity, fraud prevention or credit control checks.

13.3 The Bank will not disclose any personal data it collects about the User to third parties except:

13.3.1 to the extent that it is required to do so by any applicable law or regulation;

13.3.2 as provided in clauses 13.1 and 13.2 above;

13.3.3 where there is a duty to the public to disclose;

13.3.4 at the User’s written request or with the User’s consent;

13.3.5 when the Bank reasonably needs to do so in furtherance of the User’s business with the Bank.

13.4 The User has the right to a copy of the personal data held by the Bank in relation to it. This may be obtained by writing to the Data Protection Officer at the Bank, paying any fee applicable.  

14.1 No failure or delay on the Bank’s part in exercising any right or remedy under the Terms and Conditions shall operate as a waiver of, or impair, any such right or remedy. No single or partial exercise of any right or remedy shall preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other rights or remedies. No waiver of any right or remedy shall be deemed a waiver or modification of any other right or remedy under the Terms and Conditions.

14.2 If at any time any provision of the Terms and Conditions is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable, that shall not affect or impair the legality, validity or enforceability of any other provision of the Terms and Conditions.

14.3 The Terms and Conditions are in addition to and will not prejudice the binding nature of any other agreements between the User and the Bank.

14.4 The Bank may transfer any of its rights or obligations under the Terms and Conditions.

14.5 The User may not transfer any of its rights and obligations in relation to the Account.

14.6 The Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of the Republic of Mauritius and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Republic of Mauritius.

If the User has any questions or requires assistance and/or support regarding the Service or the Terms and Conditions, please contact the Investec Client Support Centre on +230 207 4000.

Telephone calls may be monitored and/or recorded for quality purposes and by accessing the Service, the User agrees that such recorded telephone calls may be used as evidence in a court of law.