The liability of a bank for robbery of a customer in its premises in South Africa

Abstract

Banks play a significant role in the economy by providing essential financial services to individuals and businesses. Because of the nature of their banking business, which entails the handling of money, banks have had to put up some security measures in their premises. These security measures are not only meant to safekeep the money held or stored in the bank, but also to protect the employees of the bank and the customers from criminal attacks. The protection of customers in the bank premises is very important because customers are usually not allowed to bring or carry weapons into the bank. It is primarily for this reason that banks are usually perceived by members of the public as some of the safest place for customers, such that it is believed that customers cannot be robbed while in the bank premises. The foregoing notwithstanding, however, customers do often get robbed in the bank premises in South Africa and many other parts of the world, including the United States of America. Whenever this happens, the customers who have been robbed of their monies believe that the bank should be held liable or responsible to compensate them for their loss; wherefore legal scholars, lawyers and courts of law have frequently had to examine the potential liability of the bank for robbery of the customer’s money in the bank premises. This is by no means an easy question