Section Five in our Terms and Conditions (Personal Accounts Contract) outlines steps you must take to keep your account secure.
5. ACCOUNT SECURITY AND RISK
(View the full Terms and Conditions here)
5.1 PASSWORD CONFIDENTIALITY –
a) The Financial Institution can assign and/or require the Depositor to select and use one or more Passwords in connection with the use of the Account pursuant to these terms and
conditions. The Depositor agrees to keep all Passwords confidential and will only reveal them to authorized Financial Institution agents or officers when required by the Financial
Institution. The Depositor agrees not to record any Password in any format or medium. The Depositor can change any Password at any time. The Depositor agrees to change
a Password if and when required by the Financial Institution. The Depositor acknowledges that a Password must be changed if there is a change in the persons authorized to
provide Remote Instructions on the Account.
b) The Depositor acknowledges that the Depositor is responsible for all use made of a Password and that the Financial Institution is not liable for the Depositor’s failure to comply
with any part of the Account Contract. The Depositor is liable for all authorized and unauthorized use, including all Transactions. The Depositor is also liable for all fraudulent or
worthless deposits made into the Account. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Depositor expressly acknowledges and agrees that they shall be bound by and
liable for any use of a Password by any member of the Depositor’s household.
c) If the Depositor discloses a Password to a Third Party, and if the Financial Institution becomes aware of such disclosure, the Financial Institution may, in its sole discretion, waive
the confidentiality requirements described in this section 5.1, but only if such disclosure was required in connection with the provision of a Third Party service. Notwithstanding
any such waiver, the Depositor acknowledges and agrees that the Depositor remains responsible for all use of the Password by the Third Party.
5.2 LOST OR STOLEN DEBIT CARD OR COMPROMISED PASSWORD – The Depositor agrees to notify the Financial Institution immediately:
a) of any suspected or actual misuse or unauthorized use of a Password; or
b) if the Depositor suspects or becomes aware that a Password has been made accessible or become known to anyone other than the Depositor; or
c) if the Depositor suspects or becomes aware that a Debit Card is lost or stolen.
Verbal notification will only be considered given if the Depositor speaks directly to an authorized Financial Institution officer or agent, and written notification will only be considered
given if the Financial Institution gives the Depositor written acknowledgement of receipt of such notification.
If the Depositor notified the Financial Institution promptly and cooperated in any investigation, once the Financial Institution is satisfied that the Depositor complied with the requirements
of this section 5 regarding Password confidentiality and is the victim of fraud, theft, or coercion by trickery, force, or intimidation, the Depositor will be entitled to recover from the
Financial Institution any direct losses from the Account in such fraud, theft, or coercion incurred after notice is given to the Financial Institution.
The Depositor will change the applicable Password if any of the notification requirements above in paragraphs a), b) or c) arises.
5.3 FRAUD PREVENTION AND DETECTION – The Depositor agrees to maintain appropriate security controls and procedures to prevent and detect thefts of Instruments, or losses
due to fraud or forgery involving Instruments, or fraudulent or unauthorized Transactions.
The Depositor further agrees to diligently supervise and monitor the conduct and work of all agents having any role in the preparation of the Depositor’s Instruments, the Depositor’s
reconciliation of the statement of account for the Account, or other banking functions.
The Depositor acknowledges that the Financial Institution may, from time to time, implement additional security measures, and the Depositor will comply with all instructions and
procedures issued by the Financial Institution in respect of such security measures. The Depositor is aware of the risks of unsolicited email, telephone calls, and text message
transmissions from persons purporting to be representatives of the Financial Institution. The Depositor agrees not to respond to such unsolicited communications and will only initiate
communications with the Financial Institution either through the Financial Institution’s Internet banking website or through the Financial Institution’s published contact information as
shown on the Financial Institution’s website.
5.4 PROCEDURES FOR ADDRESSING UNAUTHORIZED TRANSACTIONS AND FRAUDULENT ACCOUNT ACTIVITY –
a) Where the Depositor knows of facts that give rise or ought to give rise to suspicion that any Transactions, instructions in respect of the Account, or Instruments deposited to
the Account are fraudulent, unauthorized, counterfeit, or induced through or in any way tainted by fraud or unlawful conduct, or otherwise likely to be returned to the Financial
Institution or found invalid for any reason (“Suspicious Circumstances”), the Depositor has a duty to:
i) make reasonable inquiries of proper parties into such Transactions, instructions, or Instruments, as the case may be, to determine whether they are valid authorized
Transactions, instructions, or Instruments, as the case may be, before negotiating or, alternatively, accessing any funds derived from such Transactions, instructions, or
Instruments, and
ii) disclose such Suspicious Circumstances to the Financial Institution, including the facts upon which the Depositor’s suspicion is based.
b) The Financial Institution may, in its sole discretion, investigate any Suspicious Circumstances disclosed by the Depositor, but the Financial Institution does not owe the Depositor
any obligation to undertake its own investigation of Suspicious Circumstances. The Financial Institution will not unreasonably restrict the Depositor from the use of the Account
during such investigation, as long as it is reasonably evident that the Depositor did not cause or contribute to the problem or unauthorized Transaction, has fully cooperated with
the investigation, and has complied with the Account Contract, but the Financial Institution reserves the right to place a hold on all or some of the Accounts pending investigation
of any Suspicious Circumstances. Any such hold or investigation is imposed or undertaken by the Financial Institution at the Financial Institution’s sole discretion and for the
Financial Institution’s sole benefit.
c) The Financial Institution will respond to reports of a problem or unauthorized Transaction within a reasonable period of time and will indicate what reimbursement, if any, will be
made for any loss incurred by the Depositor. Reimbursement will be made for losses from a problem or unauthorized Transaction in this time frame provided that the Depositor
has complied with these terms and conditions including without limitation this section 5.
d) If the Depositor is not satisfied with the Financial Institution’s response, the Financial Institution will provide the Depositor, upon request, with a written account of its investigation
and the reason for its findings. If the Depositor is not satisfied, the issue will be referred for mediation to either a Financial Institution system dispute resolution service, or if no
such service is available, to an external mediator if agreed between the Depositor and the Financial Institution. Neither the Financial Institution nor the Depositor will have the
right to start court action until 30 days have passed since the problem was first raised with the Financial Institution.
5.5 ACCESS TERMINAL SECURITY – If any service in respect of the Account is made available to the Depositor through the Internet or a telephone service provider, the Depositor
acknowledges that, although the Financial Institution uses security safeguards to protect against loss, theft, and unauthorized access, because of the nature of data transmission,
security is not guaranteed and information is transmitted at the risk of the Depositor. The Depositor acknowledges and shall ensure that any private Access Terminal used to access
the Account is auto-locked by a password to prevent unauthorized use of the Access Terminal, has a current anti-Contaminant program, and a firewall, and that it is their personal
responsibility to reduce the risk of Contaminants or online attacks and to comply with this provision. The Depositor further acknowledges that to reduce the risk of unauthorized access
to the Account through the Access Terminal, the Depositor will sign out of online banking and, where applicable, close the browser when finished using it. The Depositor further
acknowledges that using public or shared computers and Access Terminals, or using Access Terminals in a public place or through an open WiFi or shared Bluetooth portal, to access
the Account increases the risk of unauthorized access to the Account, and will take all reasonable precautions to avoid such use or inadvertent disclosure of the Password.
5.6 EXCLUSION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION RESPONSIBILITY – The Financial Institution is not responsible for any loss or damage suffered or incurred by the Depositor except to
the extent caused by the gross negligence or intentional or wilful misconduct of the Financial Institution, and in any such case the Financial Institution will not be liable for any indirect,
special, consequential, or exemplary damages (including, but not limited to, loss of profits) regardless of the cause of action and even if the Financial Institution has been advised
of the possibility of such damages. In no event will the Financial Institution be liable for any cost, loss, or damage (whether direct, indirect, special, or consequential) suffered by the
Depositor that is caused by:
a) the actions of, or any failure to act by, the Depositor, or any Third Party or their agent, including other financial institutions and their agents (and no Third Party will be considered
to be acting as an agent for the Financial Institution unless expressly authorized to do so);
b) the inaccuracies in, or inadequacies of, any information provided by the Depositor to the Financial Institution, including, but not limited to, any failed, duplicative, or erroneous
transmission of Remote Instructions;
c) the failure by the Financial Institution to perform or fulfill any of its obligations to the Depositor, due to any cause beyond the Financial Institution’s control; or
d) forged, unauthorized, or fraudulent use of services, or forged, unauthorized, or fraudulent instructions or Instruments, or material alteration to an instruction, including Remote
Instructions.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Financial Institution will not be liable for:
a) the nonpayment of any cheque, bank draft, settlement card, clearing house slip, or any other evidence of payment accepted in payment or as a remittance from any other financial
institution or agent, including as a result of the default, neglect, or mistakes of any such financial institutions or agents;
b) any loss, damage, or injury arising from the use of any Access Terminal including any mechanical or operational failure of any such Access Terminal, except that in the event of
alteration of the Account balance due to technical problems, card issuer errors, and system malfunctions, the Depositor will be liable only to the extent of any benefit they have
received, and will be entitled to recover from the Financial Institution any direct losses the Depositor may have suffered; or
c) any action or failure to act of a Merchant or refusal by a Merchant to honour the Depositor’s Debit Card, whether or not such failure or refusal is the result of any error or malfunction
of a device used to authorize the use of the Debit Card for a Point-of-Sale Transaction.
The Depositor releases the Financial Institution from liability for any such loss, damage, or injury.
5.7 LIABILITY FOR ERRORS AND OMISSIONS – If the Financial Institution makes an error or omission in recording or processing any Transaction, the Financial Institution is only
liable for the amount of the error or omission if the Depositor has not caused or contributed to the error or omission in any way, has complied with the Account Contract, has given
written notice to the Financial Institution within the time provided in this Account Contract, and to the extent the liability is not otherwise excluded by the Account Contract.
If the Depositor has given such notice, the Financial Institution’s maximum liability is limited to the amount of the error or omission. In no event will the Financial Institution be liable
for any delay, inconvenience, cost, loss, or damage (whether direct, special, indirect, exemplary, or consequential) whatsoever caused by, or arising from, any such error or omission.
5.8 INDEMNITY –
a) The Depositor agrees to indemnify and hold the Financial Institution and its service providers and Central 1 and all of their connected parties, including, without limitation, their
respective agents, directors, officers, employees, affiliates, and licensees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) harmless from and against any and all liabilities and costs,
including, without limitation, reasonable legal fees and expenses incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim or demand arising out of or connected to the
Depositor’s use of the Account. Depositors must assist and cooperate as fully as reasonably required by the Indemnified Parties in the defence of any such claim or demand.
b) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Depositor will indemnify and save the Indemnified Parties harmless from and against all liability, costs, loss, expenses, and
damages, including direct, indirect, and consequential incurred by the Indemnified Parties as a result of:
i) any of the Indemnified Parties making the Account available to the Depositor;
ii) any of the Indemnified Parties acting upon, or refusing to act upon the Depositor’s instructions, including Remote Instructions;
iii) any of the Indemnified Parties acting upon, or refusing to act upon, no statement requests made by the Depositor;
iv) any of the Indemnified Parties acting upon, or refusing to act upon the instructions of any person authorized to give instructions on behalf of the Depositor;
v) the honouring or dishonouring of any Instrument;
vi) any Transaction that results in a negative balance in the Account;
vii) the consequences of any Transaction authorized by the Depositor;
viii) the need to place a hold on the Account or Transactions, including making an application to a Court if necessary;
ix) the adequacy or authority of endorsements or signatures required in any arrangement made amongst the persons constituting the Depositor; or
x) any use of the Account by the Depositor that:
(1) is inconsistent with a restriction imposed on the use of the Account by the Financial Institution pursuant to these terms and conditions, or
(2) takes place following the suspension or termination of the Account or certain service privileges by the Financial Institution pursuant to these terms and conditions.
This indemnity will enure to the benefit of the Indemnified Parties and will be binding upon the Depositor and the Depositor’s heirs, executors, successors, and assigns and shall survive
the termination of the Account Contract for any act or omission prior to termination as gives rise to an indemnified claim, even if notice is received after termination.