Sonny Zulhuda
By: Sonny Zulhuda *
Like other ICT inventio
ns that promise both unprecedented benefits and scaring risks, Internet banking has been received by both excitement and worries. While it offers high level of effectiveness such as online fund transfer as easy as from customers’ home desktop, it also haunts many as reflected in incidents involving theft of personal access code, tracing of online footprints and intrusion of online activities of other customers.
In Malaysia, Internet banking is still at its infancy though the number of service providers is increasing. Unfortunately, some crucial areas are left unclear for Internet banking consumers. This includes issues of distribution of liability between Internet banking stakeholders, use of personal data of bank customers, and low level of consumer protection provided by Internet banking operators. Furthermore, serious risks are awaiting consumers since the country’s consumer protection law statute is not applicable to commercial activities effected by information and communications technologies (ICT).
