Insurer heads to court to legally prevent people from reversing legitimate debit orders.

In a legal dispute that might reshape how debit order reversals are governed in SA, insurance group Clientele wants to force banks to give it an opportunity to provide proof of a valid mandate before reversing debit orders. This as the JSE-listed insurer battles to contain a rise in debit order reversals from its client base.

The financial services group has dragged the Payments Association of SA (PASA) to court seeking an order compelling banks not to unilaterally reverse lawful debit orders. PASA, the country’s payment system management body recognised by the central bank, has more than 20 members including SA’s biggest banks; Absa, Nedbank, Capitec, Standard Bank, FirstRand and Investec.