BANKS are supposed to be careful and discreet in handling transactions with their customers. I know, because I worked for Bank of the Philippine Islands before I retired some years ago.
That is why I was wondering why the online payments of my son for the internet connection with Converge were not transmitted on time, causing the cutting off and therefore interruption of our internet service.
My son had three more payments via on line in view of the pandemic restrictions but it seems they were lost in the transmission.
And so it happened that on June 26, 2020, our internet connection was cut off despite payments made at BDO. When I repeatedly asked my son if he indeed paid the bills, he replied animatedly saying yes, he indeed paid at his bank, the BDO.
Due to my prodding, he hurriedly went to his bank to inquire about the errors and he was assured that the payments were acknowledged by the bank and extended their apologies for the said errors.
I am writing this piece not to malign any banking institution but only to illustrate the pitfalls of online banking.
I said I'd prefer to pay via over the counter against proper receipt. This way, the payee can acknowledge the same at once and not cause any interruption at all. Besides, the bank will find no problem in reconciling the payor's account,
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Such negligence may be due to human error or premeditated. If I still know the bank procedures, transactions with the bank go through multiple scrutiny and review before they are admitted into the system.
At the end of the banking day, the general ledger clerk balances all transactions before he prepares the balance sheet for the particular which could be used as the opening figures the following day.
In the old days before the onset of modern technology, we prepare a t account wherein the debits should equal the credits and the balance extracted therefrom. Then we prepare the balance sheets and the income statements for submission to the management. Such is the rigor of working in a day where the staff and trained to be meticulous and eagle-eyed for any error. The one that happened at BDO could be blamed to human error and not to any premeditated error resulting to negligence.
Adjusting entries are made to the erroneous balances and make them conform to the other records in the bank.
Negligence per se is not that bad, provided it is not made or committed to hide a fraud or anomaly. It is usually attributed to distraction or lack of focus.. But commission of such negligence if it caused too many consequences are subject to complaints by authorities or individuals affected and may be subject to damages after prosecution.
It is better to play safe than hurry only to make mistakes. After all, haste makes waste.