Agreement and Acceptance

The terms and conditions stated herein constitute an agreement for the services contemplated herein and become effective between you and Housing Finance Bank Ltd (“the bank”, “we” or “us”) at the time of registering for Banking services.

 

Definitions

  1. “ATM” means Automated Teller machine, which can be operated by use of plastic cards.
  2. “Alerts” mean the customized messages to the Customer over mobile phones and email.
  3. “Account” shall mean an account opened for a customer in the Core Banking System in Housing Finance Bank Ltd.
  4. “Customer” means a person who is registered to use Housing Finance Bank Ltd products and services and has accepted these Terms and Conditions.
  5. “e-banking services or platforms” shall mean all services accessible by the customer by use of mobile devices which include mobile phones, tablets, computers and any other electronic means like Interactive voice response (IVR)
  6. “Mobile Banking” shall mean bank customers access to accounts and general information on bank products and services through a mobile phone device and transact off their account with the bank.
  7. “Instructions” shall mean the instructions given to Housing Finance Bank Ltd directly by the Customer through Mobile/Internet/SMS banking/bank forms
  8. “Terms and Conditions” means these Terms and Conditions including any amendments all annexure, schedules, incorporated by reference from time to time.
  9. “Services” shall mean the products and services offered by Housing Finance Bank.
  10. “App” shall mean the downloaded program that’s designed to perform Mobile Banking Services by the registered customer using their mobile devices.
  11. “Valid card” shall mean an unexpired ATM card issued by Housing Finance Bank.

 

 

  1. Joint Accounts

In the event of two or more account holders holding a joint account, the following additional provisions apply:

  1. The holders of a joint account may authorize the bank to pay or deliver to or to the order of the survivors or the executors or administrators of such survivor any monies standing to the credit of their joint account.
  2. All liability on a joint account is joint and several

 

  1. Partnership accounts

In the event of the Account holder being a partnership the following additional provisions apply:

  1. a) The partners authorize the Bank to carry out instructions countermanding payment of cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes, or other orders for payment when such instructions are given by any person whose name appears on the mandate and thereby authorized to sign whether or not that person has signed the original payment instruction.
  2. b) The partners authorize the Bank to make advances with or without security by way of overdraft, loan or in any other manner on the request of the partners at the time, and to discount bills and promissory notes on the request of the partners for the time being make in accordance with the mandate.
  3. c) The partners authorize the bank to accept by way of pledge or deposit as security or for safe custody anything belonging to the partnership on the instructions of the partners for the time being made in accordance with the mandate, and to deliver upon the said instructions anything so accepted or held on account of the partnership.
  4. d) All liability of the partners to the Bank is joint and several.
  5. e) Upon any change in the constitution of the partnership, the partners will sign a new mandate.
  6. f) A mandate remains in force and may be acted upon by the Bank until it has been revoked byall or any of the signatories or until it has been replaced by a new mandate.
  7. g) Upon dissolution of a partnership, the bank shall freeze the account until a new mandate is given.

 

  1. Drawing of cash
  2. The bank will pay cash to the account holder where the cheque is signed in the presence of the teller by an authorized signatory or by authorized signatories.
  3. Where a cash cheque is presented not by the account holder but a third party, the bank will require confirmation by telephone from the account holder or from a representative of the account holder known to the bank before it makes payment.
  4. Where cash cheques are presented by employees or other known agents of the account holder, the following steps will be taken:-
  5. i) The employee or agent will be identified beforehand in a manner acceptable to the bank; and
  6. ii) A limit on such drawings will be agreed in writing with the bank, and until such limit is agreed, no drawings will be allowed under this paragraph, and
  7. Where the account holder requests that payments be made under paragraph (c) above, the account holder indemnifies the bank in respect of all payments made to such employee or known agent, whether or not the money was received by the account holder and whether or not the order for payment presented was infact the order of the account holder.
  8. Where either the employee or agent is not known to the bank or if the cheque exceeds the agreed limit, the provisions of subparagraph (b) of this paragraph shall apply.

 

  1. Bank charges and Expense Interest

The bank is entitled to be paid by the account Holder and may (unless otherwise agreed in writing) debit the account Holder with:

  1. a) Interest on overdrawn accounts, loan accounts or on any other facility granted by the Bank, at any rate or rates as determined by the Bank from time to time but not exceeding the maximum allowed by law, which rate or rates may be different for different accounts. Such interest is calculated on daily balances and debited monthly. Where a higher rate of interest has been agreed between the bank and the account holder in respect of any security given by the account holder, that higher rate may be charged by the bank on any account. Such interest is payable notwithstanding the determination of the relationship of a banker and account holder until all sums due to the bank from the account holder have been paid or repaid in full, as well as before or after any judgment:
  2. b) Charges incurred by the bank in obtaining legal advice in connection with the account holder’s dealings with the Bank or incurred by the Bank in any legal, arbitration or other proceedings arising out of or concerned dealings;
  3. c) Commission at such rate or rates and at such times as the bank decides with power to charge different rates for different accounts;
  4. d) Charges shall accrue on the account whenever a customer transacts using any instrument or platform available. Housing Finance Bank reserves the right to charge monthly subscriptions and or management fee in addition to transaction charges which shall be communicated in its tariff guide from time to time.
  5. e) All other proper expenses and charges including but not limited to ledger fees, disbursements for cheque books, postage, cables, telephone calls, taxes, duties, impositions and expenses incurred in complying with the account Holder’s request or requests authorized and accredited Government or other agencies in relation to the account Holder dealing with the Bank or in maintaining the account.
  6. f) The Bank may levy interest, cost charges and expenses in of the ATM or ATM card.

 

  1. Repayment of Overdrawn Account

The Bank is entitled on demand to the repayment with interest of any account that is overdrawn.

 

  1. Cheque books

Cheque books are issued to the Account holder’s on following conditions:-

  1. The account holder agrees to look after and use any cheque book and any cheque form with the utmost care.
  2. The account holder further agrees to ensure:-
  3. i) That all uncompleted cheque forms are kept in safe custody at all times.
  4. ii) That the bank is informed immediately upon discovery by the account holder that any cheque book or any cheque form or registration slip in the cheque book has been stolen, lost or mislaid;

iii)   That any person preparing a cheque is authorized to do so;

  1. iv) That any cheque prepared is signed in ink or other indelible writing materials
  2. v) That the amount of cheque is written in such a manner as to prevent any unauthorized addition, alteration or deletion of letters or figures;
  3. vi) That any cheque and any alteration is signed by an authorized signatory;

vii)   That no uncompleted cheque is given to any stranger or other person when the account holder does not have reasonable grounds for believing him to be trustworthy; and

viii) That only cheques overprinted with an account number is used for that particular account

 

  1. c) The account holder is advised that:-
  2. i) Where possible any completed cheque should be crossed with two distinct lines in order to make the cheque negotiable only through a bank; and
  3. ii) If it is known with which Bank the beneficiary of a cheque keeps his account then the name of the bank should be added to the crossing in order to make the cheque negotiable only through that particular bank.
  4. d) On receipt, in a form accepted by the bank, of notice from the account holder to stop payment of a cheque, the bank will record the notice. The bank is not responsible if such notice is not acted on otherwise than through negligence a cheque is in fact paid after receipt of such notice, the bank will repay the account holder upon proof to its satisfaction that the payment had not discharged or partially discharged any liability of the account holder to any party to the cheque and receipt of any assignment of the account holder’s rights against all such parties but not otherwise. The account holder will give the bank all assistance necessary for the enforcement of the account holder together with costs of the action and is entitled to be paid this amount. Any notice given to the bank to countermand payment of a cheque must clearly indicate the cheque number, amount, payee’s name and the account number. The account holder must advise the bank of a lost cheque which has been stopped if found and a replacement issued.
  5. e) Upon closure of any account or if the account holder wants the account or accounts to be transferred to another branch or branches of the bank, the account holder will return to the bank the remaining uncompleted cheque forms relating to that account and the bank will return to the account holder the value of any revenue stamps reimbursement in respect thereof which is obtained by the bank.
  6. f) The bank may refuse payment of any cheque not drawn on the bank’s cheque form in the manner specified by the bank in accordance with these terms and conditions.

 

  1. Deposit of Cheques and other instruments

(a)   All cheques or orders for payment of whatsoever nature are accepted through deposit for collection at the risk of the Account Holder notwithstanding that the Bank sends such instruments for collection through a courier of its choice or means as deems necessary. Where any cheque or order is unpaid for any reason whatsoever (including but not limited to physical loss) other than the bank’s negligence the bank may debit the Account Holder with the amount previously credited (taking into account any exchange fluctuation where relevant) in respect of that cheque or order together with the interest since the date of crediting of the account thereby overdrawn.

(b)   Before making any withdrawal the account holder must allow a sufficient time to elapse after making any deposit (even of cash) in order to enable the Bank to carry out necessary operations to credit the account

(c)   Where cheques, other negotiable instruments of commercial documents are deposited for the credit of the account, whether or not payable at or by the Bank, the amount of such deposits shall be available for withdrawal only when actually collected by the Bank.

(d)   Although immediate credit may have been given for cheques received for collection through clearing, they are not available for drawing against until the relative cheques are realised. In such cases credits are allowed to be drawn against it is not to be construed that the relative cheques have been honoured. The Bank reserves the right to debit the Account Holder’s account or in any other way recover the amount in case such cheques are returned unpaid.

(e)   Notwithstanding the provisions of clause 5 herein any money credited to the Account Holder in error must be repaid on demand.

 

  1. No Duty on Bank to protest:

The Bank is not liable for any loss or damage suffered by any party if any dishonoured bill to be noted or protested or both. The bank will nevertheless endeavour to cause dishonoured bills to be protested or both provided that it receives instruction to do so within 24 hours of dishonoured therefore.

 

  1. Payment by third parties

The bank may credit the account holder with amounts paid by third parties. All instruments such as cheques, drafts, bills of exchange and other negotiable instruments or commercial documents, tendered for collection and credit to the account holders account are accepted by the Bank subject to the following express terms and conditions:-

  1. a) Instruments not payable at the Bank are accepted by Bank only for transmission on behalf of the Account Holder at the Account Holder’s entire risk and responsibility
  2. b) Where the instruments are forwarded by the Bank by post or through courier services, to other Banks or to any correspondent, agent or sub-agent of the Bank, the Post Office and the courier, as also the Bank or correspondent, agents or sub-agents are the bank’s choice; the Bank will not accept responsibility, and shall not be held liable, for any delay, mutilation or loss of the Account Holder’s instruments, arising from or occasioned by transmission by post or through a courier, nor shall the Bank be responsible or held liable for any act, neglect, default, failure or insolvency of the Bank, correspondent, agent or sub-agent aforesaid and or their employees any for any loss or damage suffered by the Account Holder or by any other party thereof.

 

  1. Simultaneous Order in excess of funds:

Where the bank receives several orders at approximately the same time, the total amount of which the available assets of or the credit granted to the account holder, the bank may honour the orders in whatever manner it deems fit.

 

  1. Set off
  2. a) The Bank without notice shall combine / consolidate any of the account Holder’s accounts and set off against any account or indebtness of the Account Holder whether current, loan, savings, (whether matured or not) or any other type.
  3. b) The Bank may, upon notice to the Account Holder, set off an account against any other account or indebtness in respect of which the account Holder is liable, notwithstanding that some other person may also be liable in respect thereof. In such circumstances, the Bank may at its own discretion accept against costs and at the account Holders expense and give the account holder any assistance necessary in obtaining a refund.

 

  1. Lien

(a)   Where an Account Holder is indebted to the bank, the bank has a general lien overall property/assets of the account holder in the banks possession including but not limited to cash, goods, securities or valuables deposited for save custody as security, cheques presented repayment bills and any other property movable or immovable charged to secure repayment of any money whether or not that money has been repaid and also overall property which by general law, the bank has a lien.

(b)   Where the Account Holder is indebted on circumstances giving a bank the right of set off all securities as set out in paragraph ‘a’ hereof held as security for the debt.

(c)   The Bank may at any time give the account holder notice in writing that if an accrued debit is not paid within a period of not less than 14 days on receipt by the account holder of the notice, then the Bank may without further notice realize the account holder’s assets to discharge the debt. Any part payment made will be accepted strictly on account and without prejudice to the Bank’s rights.

(d)   If the debt is not discharged within the time allowed the bank may realize the account holder’s assets sufficient to discharge the debt and the account holder constitutes the account holder subject to these terms and conditions

  1. e) Funds in foreign currencies which are subject to the bank’s lien may be set off against debts or realized at the rate of exchange current at the date of the set off or realization. The Bank accepts no liability for any loss caused by exchange fluctuations. The Bank may at any time, without notice to the account Holder, terminate or vary its business relationship with the Account Holder and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the bank cancel credits which it has granted and require the repayment of outstanding debts resulting there from within such times as the Bank may determine. The bank’s decision in this connection will be final and binding on the Account Holder and the Bank reserves the right to take any further action as it may deem fit. The Bank further reserves the right to protect its interests, which may include summarily closing any Account if:
  2. a) We are compelled by law
  3. b) We have reasons to believe that the account is being used fraudulent activities

 

  1. Accounting Periods

Accounts are made up at the Bank’s sole discretion at the end of each monthly, quarterly, half- yearly or yearly period.

 

  1. Statements

Statements deemed approved If Not Objected to Within 28 days. The contents of any statements of account or statement of any other nature which has been sent by the bank to the account holder and to which the account holder has not objected within twenty eight (28) days of the statement, shall be deemed approved by the account Holder and shall not thereafter be challenged by the account holder on any ground whatsoever including but not limited to the lack of mandate, forged or inadequate signature endorsement of cheques, forged alteration thereof or otherwise.

 

  1. Freezing of Accounts

The bank may at any time freeze any account of the account holder if:

  1. a) there is any dispute or the bank has doubt for any reason (whether or not well founded) as to the person or persons entitled to operate the same, without any obligation to institute interpleader proceedings or to take any step at its own initiative for the determination of such dispute or doubt.
  2. b) there are reasons to believe that the account is being used for fraudulent/money laundering activities whether those activities can be proved or not.

 

  1. Forgery

The bank shall not be liable in any way to the account holder for having honoured even negligently any cheque the signature or content of which has been forged if:

  1. The account holder has facilitated such forgery either by failure to comply with any of the conditions contained in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of condition 18 thereof or by its negligence in any other way; or
  2. There has been a previous forgery of any cheque of the account holder without the account holder having objected to the first statement of account which debited such cheque as provided in by paragraph 5 thereof; or
  3. The forgery has been perpetrated by an employee, servant, agency, contractor or sub-contractor of the account holder.
  4. The account holder becomes aware of the forgery and does not take reasonable time to report it the Bank

 

  1. Securities

At the request of the account holder or his authorized representative, a detailed list of the securities deposited on behalf of, the account holder will be the bank on the account holder account, or deposited in the name of the account holder will the bank’s correspondents, will be prepared and supplied to the account holder once a year or more frequently subject to a fee charged at the bank’s discretion.

 

  1. Safe Custody Deposits

Any article received by the Bank for storage or safe keeping is received on the following terms:-

  1. a) The article is received by the Bank for the Account of the depositor
  2. b) The article is received by the Bank at the sole risk of the depositor as regards any damage to or loss of the articles through any cause whatsoever including but not limited to moth, vermin, heat or leakage, and the Bank accepts no responsibility for such damage or loss except in so far as this Clause expressly provides to the contrary.
  3. c) The Bank undertakes to exercise reasonable care in looking after the article and in ensuring that no unauthorised person has access thereto provided that the liability of the Bank for loss or damage of any one article and its contents (if any) attributed to the negligence of the Bank or its employees shall be limited to UGX …… unless the Bank has acknowledged in writing after such proof as it may require, that such article together with its contents (if any) is of specified value in excess of that sum.

 

  1. Validity of documents

The Bank is not responsible for authenticity, validity, regularity or value of documents including but not limited to bills of lading, delivery orders, consignment documents, receipts warrants and insurance policies.

 

  1. Holdings and credit in foreign currency

Subject to all laws and Government regulations applicable:-

  1. a) The Bank will credit the counter-value of the Account Holder’s holdings in foreign currencies to accounts with us correspondents in various countries of origin;
  2. b) Such accounts are in the Bank’s name but are at the Account Holder’s risk, and the Account Holder accepts responsibility for any ensuing consequences, including but not limited to consequences of legal, fiscal or other measures affecting the accounts.
  3. c) Except in the case of an assignment by the Account Holder to the Bank the Account Holder may dispose of such funds only by means of requests for cheques or transfers in the original currencies at the Bank’s option: and
  4. d) where an account is in foreign currency and demand on the Bank for payment from such an account is properly met by the Bank issuing a draft or effecting a transfer or making payment in any other manner in foreign currency such payments shall be at the discretion of the Bank.
  5. e) All credits granted in foreign currencies are also subject to this Clause.

 

  1. The Account Holder authorises the Bank to make any enquiries it may deem necessary in respect of opening any account.

 

  1. Electronic Banking

The device which you select to access electronic banking may include a computer, cellphone, telephone or similar technologies and the medium through which you access internet banking and SMS banking services may include the internet, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Wireless Internet Gateway (WIG), Short Messaging Service (SMS) or such similar systems. The device and medium shall collectively be referred to as “The communication system”.

 

  1. Nature of Information on the Communication system

Unless clearly stated otherwise, the information contained in the communication system constitutes an invitation to do business with the Bank. It does not constitute an offer to buy or sell or enter into any transaction. Secondly, the information is intended to provide general information about the bank, its products and services. The information may contain estimates therefore actual estimates may differ. The information is provided “as is” and therefore professional advisers or the Bank should be consulted before relying on any information contained in the communication system.

 

  1. Instructions
  2. a) You authorise the Bank to regard all activities you conduct or instructions sent after you enter your pass code as being authorised by you and intended to have legal effect. This includes circumstances where your passcode has been compromised in any way and the Bank has not received notice to that effect. An instruction is deemed to have been received by the Bank once the Bank confirms receipt of the instruction. Do not re-send your instruction without confirming the Bank’s receipt of the same from our customer service or checking your account statements. This is because your instruction may still be processed and re-sending the instruction may lead to double transaction for which we will not be held liable.
  3. b) Whenever a customer’s PIN or passcode is entered onto the Mobile or internet Banking, it shall be deemed as full authority by the customer to the Bank to execute such instructions flowing there from.

 

  1. Turnaround time

Your instructions to the Bank will be subject to the same turnaround times and processes that apply to your customer profile, the type of account and type of transaction involved. More information on the turnaround time for processing transactions is availed at Customer service platforms.

 

  1. Ending a Transaction Session

You must ensure that you log off from the Mobile or Internet Banking system at the end of your transaction.

 

  1. Use of Mobile Banking

Mobile Banking is a form of banking service. This means that provisions of the General Terms relating to our banking services apply to its operation.

 

In addition, you must:

  1. a) ensure you comply with any local restrictions on downloading using or otherwise exporting the Mobile Banking or the app;
  2. b) not download the Mobile Banking app from anywhere other than a store approved by us or install or use it on a jail-broken or rooted device;
  3. c) not use Mobile Banking or the app in any unlawful manner, for any unlawful purpose, or in any manner inconsistent with the agreement, or act fraudulently or maliciously for example by hacking into or inserting malicious code into the Mobile Banking App or iOS, android or other operating systems;
  4. d) not upload, store or share inappropriate or illegal images or content that breaches the rights of others;
  5. e) not attempt to derive income from the use or provision of Mobile Banking, whether for direct commercial or monetary gain or otherwise;
  6. f) not use Mobile Banking in a way that could damage, disable, overburden, impair or compromise Mobile Banking Housing Finance Bank systems or security or interfere with other users;
  7. g) and not collect or harvest any information or data from Mobile Banking or our systems or attempt to decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running Mobile Banking.

 

  1. Passcode Protection and Irregularities

A “passcode” refers to your PIN (Personal Identification Number). You must protect and keep your PIN and/or access codes confidential at all times. Please note that it is not safe to store it on your computer. You must report any compromise of your PIN or passcodes to the Bank without delay. You may do this by contacting our Customer Service centre. Once you notify us to disable your PIN or access code, we are entitled to:

  1. a) Reject all instructions received after such notification;
  2. b) Suspend the processing of all instructions not yet executed;
  3. c) Reverse (if possible) all executed transactions with effect from such date and time as we may reasonable determine the unauthorised use to have commenced;
  4. d) Deactivate the passcode without further notice; please note that your PIN/Passcode shall be confidential and there will not be a reason for any person including a member of our staff at Customer Service centre to know or ask for your PIN or passcode. It is your obligation not to disclose your passcode to these persons, or any other third party regardless of whether you called them or they called you. After your initial registration we will not contact you to request your security details and we will not ask anyone else to do so on our behalf. If you receive such a request then it is likely to be fraudulent and you must not supply your security details in any circumstances. You should report any such activity to us immediately.

 

  1. Limits

Housing Finance Bank reserves the right;

  1. a) to set transaction limits, the amount and frequency of payments that a customer may make on your account. Without prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid, processing of all the instructions is subject to the availability of free, clear and available funds/limits on the customer’s account or valid card. In the event of clear funds/limits not being available, housing Finance Bank shall not process the instructions and shall not make payments. The customer understands that Housing Finance Bank shall not be liable for any late charges, penalty, loss, damage, expenses, whether direct or indirect, incurred/to be incurred by the Customer in this regard and/or the Utilities/Services not being delivered to the customer by the agents on account of failure to execute instructions and the customer hereby agrees not to hold Housing Finance Bank liable in this regard.

 

  1. b) to limit amounts, which may be withdrawn by a cardholder daily. The Bank also reserves its right to restrict the ATM to certain hours of the day, as notified from time to time.

 

  1. Use of Location Data

Certain services, including the ATM finder, will make use of location data sent from your mobile device. You can turn off this functionality at any time by turning off the location services settings for the Mobile Banking app on your mobile device. If you use these services, your consent to us and our partners’ and licensees’ transmission, collection, maintenance, processing and use of your location data and queries to provide and improve location based and road traffic based products and services. You may withdraw this consent at any time by turning off the location services settings on your mobile device (for Android) or on the Mobile Banking app (for other mobile devices)

 

  1. Unavailability of e-Banking Platform

The Bank will at all times and for whatever reason have the sole and exclusive right to suspend or terminate e-Banking services without any prior notification or giving any reasons for such termination or suspension, especially where the bank finds it appropriate to do so or as may be required by law to take such action. The customer acknowledges and accepts that the e-Banking services may be unavailable from time to time for any reason including;

  1. a) technical failure or problems with the communication system itself or our communication system underlying banking systems (the bank system);
  2. b) technical failure or problems with a communication system directly or indirectly underlying e-banking services that is owned or controlled by other persons (third party system);
  3. c) Unavailability of telecommunication or electricity services; or other circumstances beyond our control.
  4. d) You undertake in the event of unavailability of e-banking services, to mitigate your potential losses by using any other means of communication with us for the duration of the unavailability of Internet Banking.
  5. e) Any interruption, malfunction, downtime or other failure of services provided by third parties including without limitation; third party systems such as public switch telecommunications service providers, internet service providers, electricity suppliers, local authorities and certification authorities;
  6. f) Any event over which we have no direct control.

NOTE: the customer hereby acknowledges that the bank shall not be liable for any loss arising out of general interruptions with the Internet System since the service is an internet based solution. Transactions on the ATM will be allowed to the extent of the permissible limit/balance in the account subject to the daily maximum limit.

 

  1. The Bank shall debit the cardholder account with the amount withdrawn from any of the ATMs by the use of the ATM card. The transaction record generated by the ATM and the Bank’s records shall be deemed to be conclusive proof of the correctness of the transaction and binding unless verified otherwise and corrected by the Bank. The verified and corrected amount will be binding on the cardholder.

 

  1. The ATM is issued on the basis that all the drawings will be covered by sufficient credit balances in the cardholder’s account or be within the specific or other arrangements agreed to previously by the Bank. It is the card holders’ responsibility to ensure that sufficient funds are available to meet drawings by the use of this card.

 

  1. The Bank would levy penal rates of interest in all cases of unauthorized overdrafts on accounts of such drawings. This would be in addition to cancellation of the card, at the discretion of the Bank and any other action which the Bank might deem fit.

 

  1. The Cardholder is responsible for and agrees and undertakes to report the loss, theft and/or unauthorized use of the card as soon as possible, in writing, to the issuing branch of the Bank. In the event that unauthorized use of ATM Card occurs prior to the issuing Branch acknowledging receipt of notifications of its loss or theft in writing, the Cardholder will be responsible for the amounts involved in any transactions, which have taken place during the intervening period. Such amounts will be debited to the Cardholder’s account with the Bank. Once the loss or theft of a card is reported to and acknowledged by the issuing branch in writing, the Cardholder will have no liability to the Bank in respect of the subsequent unauthorized use of the ATM Card.

 

  1. All notification and /or questions concerning the use of the ATM card should be directed to the branch which issued the ATM card and where the cardholder maintains his/her account.

 

  1. The Bank reserves the right to refuse an application and to withdraw at any time, any or all the rights and privileges pertaining to ATM Card, at its sole discretion. The Bank also reserves its rights to terminate the usage to the ATM facility to the Cardholder in the event of the Card holder not adhering strictly to the terms and conditions set out herein, or in the opinion of the Bank the ATM facility is used improperly, or for any other reason, notwithstanding such termination.

 

  1. The ATM card remains at all times, the property of the Bank.

 

  1. At the time of issuance of the ATM card, the Cardholder will be advised a secret personal identification number (PIN). The Card holder should immediately on receipt of the Card, change his PIN to a PIN of his/her choice, by using the card on the assigned ATM. This PIN should thereafter be used for all his/her ATM transactions until it is changed by him/her.

 

  1. In case the Cardholder forgets the PIN or the ATM Card is misplaced/lost, the issuing branch of the Bank should be advised immediately, in writing. The branch will then, after scrutiny of the request, take necessary steps to issue a duplicate card wherever necessary, within a reasonable time. The Cardholder agrees to pay the applicable charges levied by the Bank from time to time in this connection and also submit necessary indemnity/other documents as may be required by the Bank.

 

  1. The Cardholder authorizes the Bank/or duly authorized agent to recover all dues from any of the accounts of the cardholder with the Bank and /or to recover such dues from the account of the cardholder with any other Bank or Institution

 

  1. In the event of any dues remaining payable by the cardholder the same can be recovered by the Bank from any other account or asset of the Cardholder at any Bank from any other account or asset of the Cardholder at any Bank including after the demise of the cardholder and the dues of the Cardholder shall operate as a charge on the account or asset of the Cardholder till realization.

 

  1. A Cardholder can use the deposit facility of the ATM only for credit in the designated account assigned to the card. The deposits made by the cardholder in the designated accounts shall be subject to clearance cheques in the normal clearing house system. In case of any discrepancy in the amount entered by the cardholder and the amount of the cheque or cash found in the envelope, the amount found and verified by the Bank shall be credited to the account. The decision of the Bank shall be final and binding. Drawings against the deposits made using the deposit module of the ATM will be allowed only after the account of the Cardholder is actually credited with the amount of cash deposited or after clearance in case of cheques deposited.

 

  1. If the cardholder wishes to stop the use of the ATM Card he/she gives notice of 7 days to the Bank and surrenders the ATM card to the Bank

 

  1. All authorizations and powers conferred on the Bank are irrevocable.

 

  1. The Bank reserves the right to amend or add to any of these rules. These terms and conditions shall be construed and governed by the laws for the time being in force in Uganda

 

  1. Communication
  2. a) All notices, statements, letters and other communications from the Bank may be sent to the last address given by the Account Holder, and the date on the Bank copy of any such communication is taken to be the date of such dispatch in the absence of proof to the contrary.
  3. b) Any written communication from the Bank to the Account Holder including but not limited to any notice given pursuant to these Terms and Conditions shall be deemed to have been received by the Account Holder, if delivered then at the date and time of delivery, and if sent by post then five business days after posting if sent to a Ugandan address and seven business days after posting if sent to an address outside Uganda: and in providing such dispatch by post it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter containing the communication was properly stamped and addressed and put into the Post Office,
  4. c) The Account Holder has no claim on the Bank for damages resulting from losses, delays, misunderstandings, mutilations, duplications or any other irregularities due to transmission of any communication whether to or from the Account Holder, the Bank or any third party, by delivery, post, telegraph, telephone, telex or any other means of communication.

 

  1. Notices
  2. a) You permit us to issue notices required in the terms of this agreement or by regulation available via our communication systems or sending such notification by email, SMS or similar future technologies. The notices issued shall to the extent to which they contain contractual terms relating to e-Banking form part of this agreement.
  3. b) Upon dishonour of a cheque by either non acceptance or by non-payment, the bank shall give the due notice of the dishonour to the account holder within reasonable time as per the law and regulations.

 

  1. Lodging in Complaints
  2. a) All complaints about the banking services, products and channels shall be reported by the customer to the Bank through its available customer service platforms as soon as possible. The Bank shall upon receipt of any such complaints, take reasonable steps to give feedback to the customer within two (2) weeks depending on the nature of the complaint.
  3. b) The Bank shall not be responsible for any matter unless the account holder has made a formal complaint to the Bank as soon as possible. Where notification is expected from the bank but not received, the complaint must be made within 28 days from the date the notification was due.

 

  1. Indemnity
  2. a) In consideration of Housing Finance Bank agreeing to provide to the Customer the account, the customer hereby irrevocably agrees to indemnify and keep Housing Finance Bank indemnified at all times from all losses, damage, costs, legal fees, charges and expenses and consequences whatsoever, suffered or incurred by housing Finance Bank on account of any claims, actions, suits or otherwise instituted by the customer, or any third party whatsoever, arising out of or in connection with the use of your Account and any transactions initiated by the use of the Account, whether with or without the knowledge of the customer or whether the same has been initiated bona fide or otherwise which transactions, the customer hereby acknowledges, Housing Finance Bank has processed on the instructions and authority of the customer in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. In addition, you shall indemnify the bank for all losses and costs it may incur on your behalf due to;
  3. Non-payment
  4. Any instructions exceeding the amount available in your bank account

iii.    Unauthorized instructions executed which are not due to the bank’s negligence.

  1. b) The Bank shall not be responsible for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly as a result of;
  2. i) all transactions made with the ATM Card and shall stand indemnified by the Cardholder against such loss or damage.
  3. ii) any malfunction/failure of the ATM Card, the temporary insufficiency of funds in such machine or otherwise howsoever.

 

  1. c) Where Housing Finance Bank (“the Bank”) agrees to accept instructions from a Customer as may from time to time be issued by him/her/they in form of Fax transmission, facsimile transmission, e-mail (Electronic Mail), Phone or written in hard copy but delivered by third parties (“herein referred to as the customer Instructions”) for the operations of his/hers/their account/facilities with the Bank without requiring prior written confirmation from him/her/them, as long as the said instructions, in the Bank’s opinion bear actual signatures in accordance with the mandate for such account(s) before acting on such Instructions, the Customer confirms, agrees and acknowledges that:

 

  1. i) He/She/They are aware that such customer instructions are insecure and can be tampered with but nevertheless choose to use those instructions for the duration stated herein the account opening forms.
  2. ii) The Bank has warned the Customer that it cannot detect from inspection of emails, faxes, or written and hand delivered instructions whether the original document from which a fax was created or the text or other content of any email or any document or other file attached to an email), or any document hand delivered to the Bank was forged, unauthorized, wrongfully altered, or otherwise misused; or whether any of the transmission details included in a received email, such as the sender’s name, the sender’s email address, the date or time of sending, server details or the route through which the email travelled are false.

iii)   No customer instructions shall be considered received by the Bank until the Customer either received a reply or read receipt or a call back from the Bank. The Bank shall not be liable where a customer cannot be reached after reasonable attempts.

  1. iv) This indemnity is supplemental to (and forms part of) the Bank’s account opening and other general Terms and Conditions. Should there be any conflict between this indemnity and the said Terms and Conditions, the provisions of this indemnity shall have precedence.
  2. v) The Bank is hereby authorized to act on the Instructions which, in it’s sole discretion are believed to have been issued by the Customer and the Bank shall not be liable for acting in good faith on such instructions which the Bank believes to have been issued by the Customer or his/hers/their authorized persons.
  3. vi) Given the provisions of clause ii) above, the Bank shall not be under any duty to verify the identity of the person or persons giving Instructions purportedly in the Customer’s name and any transaction made pursuant to such Instructions believed to be issued by the Customer or by his/hers/their authorized persons shall be binding upon the Customer whether made with or without the Customer’s authority, knowledge or consent.

vii)   He/She/They undertake to keep the Bank indemnified and harmless at all times against all actions, proceedings, successful claims, loss, damage costs and expenses which may be brought against it or suffered or incurred by it and which shall have arisen either directly or indirectly out of or in connection with its accepting the said Instructions and acting thereon. This indemnity shall stay in place for as long as the Customer continues to issue instruction in form of Fax transmission, facsimile transmission, e-mail (Electronic Mail), Phone or written in hard copy but delivered by third parties but in any case not beyond the time period stated herein the account opening forms.

viii)  Notwithstanding clause iii), He/She/They undertake to send to the Bank, with respect to instructions given by Phone, confirmation by e-mail (electronic mail) the original instructions signed by authorized signatories in accordance with the account Mandate. The Customer’s email address and Phone numbers to be used at one time are as stated in the account opening documents.

  1. ix) He/She/They waive any rights that he/she/they may have now or in the future against the Bank for direct or indirect losses or damages the Customer may suffer because the Bank acted on any customer instructions.
  2. x) That the Bank in its absolute discretion, with or without notice reserves the right to terminate the use of instructions received by Fax, Phone or email or written but delivered by a thirty party in the event that the Customer is in breach or have failed to strictly adhere the terms and conditions set by the Bank.
  3. xi) Any delays on the part of the Bank in exercising any of its rights arising under the terms and conditions hereunder shall not amount to a waiver of any such rights.

 

 

  1. Warranties

Although we have taken care to ensure that the content provided in the communication system is accurate and that you suffer no loss or damage as a result of using it, the communication system and e-Banking services are provided “as is”. We do not warrant that the communication system or Internet banking will be error free or will meet any particular criteria of accuracy, completeness or reliability of information, performance or quality. We expressly disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, title, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security and accuracy.

 

  1. Breach

The bank may terminate your access to the e-banking services if you breach a material term of this agreement and fail to remedy it within the timelines recommended by the Bank.

 

  1. The applicant (herein after called cardholder) must maintain a personal savings account at a branch of Housing Finance Bank ( HFB)Ltd ( herein after called the Bank) to whom the application for Swift cash ATM card ( herein after called ATM card) is submitted, which will be the designated account for all his/her ATM transactions. The designated account shall be in the individual name of the cardholder, or joint account with operational instructions being Either or Survivor” or “Anyone, Survivors or Survivor”. None of the account holders should be “minor”. Closure, transfer or any changes in the operation mode of the designated account will not be permitted unless the ATM card is surrendered and dues, if any, against it are paid.

 

  1. Headings, Disclosure, Interpretation and Amendments
  2. a) Marginal notes contained in these Terms and Conditions are for information purposes only and are not conclusive as to the contents of the Clauses they relate to.
  3. b) In these Terms and Conditions the expression, ‘the Account Holder’ shall include any person or persons, firm or corporate body and the word “’his“ also refers to the female gender.
  4. c) Any addition or alteration of these Terms and Conditions can be made from time to time by the Bank but upon giving the Account Holder the requisite 30 days of notice. The addition or alteration to the terms and conditions shall be binding on the Account Holder upon expiry of the notice.
  5. d) The customer hereby irrevocably mandates the bank to lawfully disclose details of and relating to the Customer’s account to any credit reference, agency or other like institutions as it deems necessary or as may be required by an order of court or by the Law.
  6. e) The Cardholder agrees to the Bank disclosing, in strict confidence, to other institutions, such information concerning the cardholder’s accounts as may be necessary or appropriate in connection with its participation in any electronic artwork.

 

  1. General Provisions
  2. No failure on the part of the Bank to exercise any of its rights is to be construed as a waiver of any such right whether it is done expressly or implied. It will not affect the validity of any part of these conditions or prejudice our right to take subsequent action against you.
  3. Where any of these terms, conditions or provisions are held to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable to any extent; such term condition or provision will be severed from the remaining terms, which will continue to be valid.

iii.    The Bank’s address of service for legal process is Housing Finance Bank Plot 4 Wampewo Avenue, Kololo P.O.Box 1539 Kampala, Uganda.

  1. This agreement will be governed and construed in accordance with the Laws of Uganda.

 

  1. Declaration By The Customer

“The Account holder(s) promise to take due care to ensure that their account shall not be used to abet or facilitate illegal or otherwise fraudulent activities.

 

  1. Data collection and privacy

The account holder(s) consents to the Bank registering and using  their personal data  for the following reasons; for the Bank to meet their obligations and manage relationships as laid out in the consumer protection guidelines, for the Bank to craft relevant products and solutions, for the Bank’s internal administrative purposes such as maintaining digital and other platforms, reporting to various regulators , for the Bank to uphold an adequate level of security and prevent fraud or for any other reason as the account owner may be advised about from time to time.

 

The account holder(s) is entitled to correct or remove any personal data held by the Bank subject to restrictions in existing legislation and the Bank’s rights to collect that data.

 

  1. Digital Banking and Other Self Service Channels

The Customer, you will be automatically registered to our Digital Banking Services/Channels upon account activation to enable you transact conveniently and monitor any activity on your account. However, you have the discretion to opt out by selecting any of the Digital Services/Channels listed below; Mobile Banking, Online/Internet Banking, SMS Alerts, E-Statements, Email Alerts, Master Card, Cheque Book etc

See also: Housing Finance Bank Privacy Policy

Acceptance Of The General Terms And Conditions

 

These are the General Terms and Conditions referred to in the Account Opening Form and the customer (s) attest to accepting them by signing this………………….day of…………………..20……………………..

 

 

  1. Signature: …….………………………………… Name………………..……………………………….…………………………

 

  1. Signature: …….………………………………… Name………………..……………………………….…………………………

 

  1. Signature: …….………………………………… Name………………..……………………………….…………………………

 

  1. Signature: …….………………………………… Name………………..……………………………….…………………………

 

In the presence of (Bank Official);

 

Signature: .…….…………………………………….…………         Name………………..……………………………….…………….

 

Designation: ……………………………………………………..              Date:………………………………………………………………………..