Liability and Legal Considerations in ATM Transactions: Supreme Court Decisions

The Supreme Court's evaluations draw attention in disputes arising from money and cards forgotten at ATMs, device malfunctions or card copying cases. In disputes regarding ATM transactions, the Supreme Court takes into account the customer's fault status as well as bank records and camera footage.

The decisions include evaluations regarding the responsibilities of the parties in different situations, from retrieving money forgotten in the ATM chamber to transactions made after the card is lost, from technical malfunctions to card copying cases.

TAKING MONEY AND CARD FORGOT AT AN ATM IS A CRIME

According to the established jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Appeals Criminal Chambers, taking and using the money left in the ATM chamber by the previous customer after the transaction or the bank card he forgot on the device may constitute a crime.

The Supreme Court points out that the money in the ATM chamber cannot be considered as unclaimed property. It is accepted that the original owner of the money continues to be in possession and the bank has the obligation to protect the values ​​in question.

For this reason, actions such as taking money left in the ATM or withdrawing money from the account on the open screen without consent may be subject to prosecution for "Theft" or "Abuse of Bank or Credit Cards" within the scope of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

TIMELY NOTIFICATION OF A LOST CARD IS IMPORTANT

In the decisions of the General Assembly of the Supreme Court of Appeals and the relevant legal chambers, the responsibility of customers who lose their cards or forget them at the ATM is also addressed.

The customer who forgets his card at the ATM or realizes that the device has swallowed his card must report the situation to the bank without delay.

Exceeding the reasonable notice period between forgetting the card and withdrawing money from the account by third parties may lead to the customer being considered "grossly at fault". In this case, it may not be possible for the account holder who does not cancel his/her card in time to claim the entire financial loss from the bank.

BANK'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR ATM FAILURE AND CARD COPY

The 11th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals makes evaluations regarding the technical problems experienced in ATMs and the responsibilities of banks in card copying cases.

Attention is drawn to the objective duty of care of banks in cases such as money jams, deposited money not being transferred to the account due to a system malfunction, or card information being copied using devices placed in the ATM.

Since banks are institutions of trust, they are obliged to ensure the technical and physical security of ATMs. In cases where the serious fault of the customer cannot be proven, the bank may have to cover the damage suffered by the customer whose card information is captured by the ATM mechanism or whose money is detained due to a system error.

CAMERA AND LOG RECORDS ARE EVIDENCE

Camera images and log records are also among the important evidence in disputes regarding ATM transactions.

Details such as the second at which the transaction was made, whether the money was taken from the ATM chamber, and who the person who visited the device after the transaction can be examined through camera records and electronic transaction data.