
Fair trade practices body Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission MRTPC has directed Citibank to inquire into and plug security loopholes in its electronic transaction platforms like ATMs, while initiating a probe against the bank after a customer was billed for cash he did not withdraw.
The MRTPC passed the direction on a complaint from a credit card customer of the bank that he was wrongfully billed for a cash withdrawal transaction of Rs 16,000, although he had never used the card in an ATM.
The customer Sukhbir Singh was shown as a defaulter by the bank, but he successfully proved that he never used his card. Following this, the Commission directed the bank to hire an expert to 8220;go over all aspects involved and ensure that the systems are properly immunised so that transactions on a banking system such as ATM cannot be done by unauthorised persons8230; to ensure credibility of the system8230;8221; It also said that it would initiate an inquiry of unfair trade practices against the banking giant and directed Citibank to file a compliance report within eight weeks. The bench was headed by chairman Justice O P Dwivedi.