Banker-Customer Relationship under Electronic Banking: Liability and Remedies for Data Breach in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper is set to examine the nature of banker-customer
relationship under electronic banking so as to discover who
becomes liable in any occasion of data breach. In order to address
this research problem as well as achieve its purpose or objective,
doctrinal research method is employed. The discovered that the
traditional banker-customer relationship has not been affected by
electronic banking; the only effect of electronic banking on this
relationship is on the nature and form of contract created under
it. It is also observed that banks operating in Nigeria have the
attitude of shifting liability to their customers using electronic
banking agreements. Based on this observation, it is
recommended that there is a need for courts to uphold the
traditional banker-customer relationship between banks and
customers. It is also recommended that exclusion or exemption
clauses cannot avail banks owing to the fact that failure to protect
their customers’ vital information is a breach of a fundamental
condition of the contract existing between them.