Consumer protection is of critical importance to the Bank of Botswana. Banks are deposit-taking institutions, and a fundamental objective of licensing, regulation and supervision undertaken by the Bank of Botswana is to ensure that the depositors’ funds are safe and secure. The solvency of both individual banks and the financial system as a whole is essential for this.
Consumer protection has other dimensions, most notably service quality. For this reason, the Bank of Botswana is in regular contact with the institutions that it supervises with a view to supporting improvements in both the range and cost of services.
There are inevitable occurrences where customers have problems with their banks. In such instances, they should first try to resolve the issue through that bank’s internal complaints procedure. (All licensed banks are required to have a process through which complaints are registered and addressed, conspicuously displayed in their banking halls). If customers are not satisfied with the bank’s action, they may lodge their complaints with the Botswana Banking Ombudsman’s (Banking Ombudsman) office. The Banking Ombudsman was established in 2002 at the initiative of the banking sector to help resolve disputes between banks and their clients. The contact details are:
Postal Address
Mr Gabriel A K Maotwanyane
Banking Ombudsman
Botswana Banking Ombudsman
Private Bag 00404
GABORONE
Physical Address
Plot 8843
Khama Crescent
FNBB House fourth floor,
GABORONE
Tel: 3935409
Fax:3935406
Cell:71326282
Email: bankadjud@info.bw
If a customer is not satisfied with the Banking Ombudsman’s resolution, he/she may escalate the complaint to the Director, Banking Supervision Department, Bank of Botswana.
Finally, the Bank of Botswana undertakes a range of public education activities, many of which are aimed at improving consumer understanding of money and banking activities, thus availing important information on financial products, banking services and consumer rights and responsibilities.