Utter disbelief #coronavirus

I am writing this on behalf of my mother as a concerned son.

My mother’s Standard Bank card was blocked on Friday night (20/03/2020) for possible ********** activity. My mother used SnapScan to pay for her blood tests with PathCare – there is a SnapScan option on the invoice. Standard Bank viewed this transaction as ********** and blocked her card.

My mother called Standard Bank’s ***** helpline on Saturday morning (21/03/2020) to unblock her card. Unfortunately, even after providing her life history, she still failed the security test.

She asked what other means are available to unblock her card? Could you guess the ***** consultant’s response? Yes, standard business practice, even at a time when we are trying to limit the spread of the coronavirus is to request the customer, irrespective of their age, health status, etc. to visit the nearest branch!

My mother is 65 years old and currently recovering from an illness – hence the need to pay PathCare for blood tests. As she is in the high-risk category for coronavirus, she is now ‘self-isolating’ at home, making use of online shopping as far as possible.

Given the above, I called Standard Bank’s complaints line on Saturday morning (21/03/2020). The complaints department was closed until Monday, but my call was routed to a consultant in transactional banking. I explained the issue and he tried to assist by first speaking with ***** who repeated the above – failed security test means a visit to the branch. He then spoke with his manager, who unfortunately did not believe my claims – not sure which part was unbelievable? Kudos to the consultant for trying to assist.

Standard Bank, how is it possible that the default option, in this day and age and especially for those in the high-risk category for coronavirus, is to visit a branch if the issue cannot be rectified via telephone? My current bank does not even have branches – one is able to rectify all issues digitally!

Utter disbelief.