A “seriously ill” patient was taken to FDH Bank branch in Phalombe to withdraw cash after the bank reportedly refused to let her next of kin to conduct the transaction on her behalf.
According to a Facebook post by Henry Mapulanga, the patient has her mother as next of kin who presented documents from District Commissioner’s office but the bank said it could not let the mother withdraw the cash on behalf of the woman who is “chronically ill”.
The patient’s relatives were then forced to take her to the bank to withdraw money.
“[In the bank] the patient had to sleep on the floor in pain as she could not sit on a chair,” said Mapulanga.
On social media, some Malawians have criticised the bank over the treatment of its customer. They are of the view that the bank should have allowed the woman’s relatives to conduct the transaction or send bank officials to visit her in hospital.
“This is a bad image for the bank, certain situations only demand umunthu and forgetting the policies put by man,” said one person on Facebook.
“He (bank manager) should’ve gone to see the patient himself and informed his colleagues. I don’t think the policy was meant kuti anthu azizunzidwa,” another person wrote on Twitter.
However, others have defended the branch manager of FDH Bank saying he was only following policy and protecting a customer’s money.
Some have argued that the documents the relatives presented were irrelevant in this case since the DC cannot certify incapacitation.
“They should have submitted a Medical Report from the District Health Office. DCs are handy when it comes to Deceased Estate,” said one person who explained that his friend’s wife managed to withdraw her husband’s money after presenting a letter from health authorities.
Meanwhile, some social media users have highlighted the importance of using ATM cards and mobile platforms in order to avoid such issues.
“This could have been avoided if they had an ATM card or mobile banking. Otherwise I think the bank isn’t in the wrong. It’s unfortunate that the lady was sick but the policy is there to protect clients from people trying to scam,” one person said.
The bank is yet to comment on the matter.
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