Willem Roux, who joined Bank Zero in August 2021, has a great story that shows how Bank Zero’s unique patent technology for its cards protects the bank’s customers.

As a regular traveler, Willem loves using his Bank Zero card when travelling overseas – partly due to the maximum 1% mark-up on the FX rate and partly for the security. 

This security benefit was highlighted on a recent trip to London – where he was the victim of attempted card skimming.

If not for Bank Zero’s invisible patent technology, this could have been a much bigger problem than it actually was.

Attempted withdrawals

The situation began when Willem used his Bank Zero card to draw some cash at a very busy ATM in Covent Garden. 

After receiving his cash, he went about his normal day – but a few hours later, Willem received a Bank Zero notification that informed him that there had been an attempted (but unsuccessful) cash withdrawal using his card details.

This failed withdrawal attempt took place in New York, USA – over 5,000km from his current location – despite his card still being in his wallet.

A few minutes later, he received another notification of a failed attempt at a different New York ATM. 

This alarmed Willem, so he instinctively locked his card from within the Bank Zero App and emailed Bank Zero to query the failed attempts. 

What had happened

It was quickly established that during his Covent Garden ATM withdrawal, his card was skimmed by a hidden device, and his PIN was compromised, too. 

Within a few hours, his card details and PIN had been linked to a newly cloned card and used in an attempt to withdraw cash.

Thankfully, these attempts were easily blocked due to Bank Zero’s unique and first-in-the-world card patent. 

This ensured that Willem’s money was safe – even though the scamster had his card details and PIN. What’s more: he didn’t even have to lock his card! 

The Bank Zero advantage

Willem is lucky that he banks with Bank Zero, as if he had been with another bank, the cloned card’s transactions would’ve been successful.  

What’s more – because his PIN had been compromised, he would not have been able to claim back his money without some serious legal processes (if at all).

With Bank Zero, though, not only was Willem’s money safe – but he also didn’t have to go through the schlep of paperwork to report the fraud, plus replacing his card while away from South Africa. 

Instead, he could calmly continue with his day – and he found this experience so unique and impressive that he Tweeted about it:

 https://twitter.com/willemvroux/status/1594664764629975040?s=20&t=9nI1EkJ_GEEblxJq8uK83A 

Willem also messaged us to say that while he has always maintained that Bank Zero is the best bank in South Africa, he now knows for certain that Bank Zero is also the safest.  

Between the unique Bank Zero card patent, the secure in-app card settings control, the informative push notifications to his phone for all card activity, and his chosen picture on the card to prevent card swapping – Willem knows that his card (and money) are always secure against scammers. 

World-first Bank Zero patent saves the day for card skimming victim (businesstech.co.za)